We don’t know how many times we’ve heard someone just back from a trip abroad say, “I really would like a juicy steak.” Or how many times we’ve seen a small child hand their mother the bun just to eat the hamburger patty.
Yes, thank goodness consumers love the unique taste of beef.
Many thousands of dollars have been spent trying to understand the attributes behind that flavor profile—largely to no avail. Even today a key research focus for Check-off funding is beef flavor.
What we do know is that marbling (intramuscular fat) is one of the major factors influencing flavor.
Since the USDA quality grades (Prime, Choice, Select and Standard) are based mainly on marbling levels, one would expect those grades to predict level of flavor acceptance. So we should not be surprised that is just what years of research have shown (See Fig. 1).
Still, our understanding of beef flavor continues to grow.
A recent study (2014) by Dr. Travis O’Quinn and colleagues at Texas Tech University showed consumer panels only found 4% of Prime and 7.2% of Premium Choice unacceptable, compared to rejecting 20% of Select beef.
O’Quinn’s work at Colorado State University with trained panels was even more dramatic. Consumers with experience in detecting flavor differences rated the lower marbling steaks very unacceptable. Marbling at the Select or lower level meant less than a 30% chance of a positive eating experience.
So here are some things you likely did not know about beef flavor—perhaps your first lesson in food chemistry.
Marbling cells contain “species specific” carbonyl compounds that create beef’s unique taste. Marbling influences not only flavor, but another key beef palatability trait as well: tenderness. For years, meat scientists held that marbling accounted for no more than 10% of variation in tenderness. Today, research suggests 30% to 40% of tenderness variation relates to the level of marbling.
Extensive research studies have shown that genetics, days on feed, breed, feeding grain vs. grass-fattening affect beef flavor… but interestingly all of them come back to the changes those variables cause in marbling levels.
Genetic opportunities to select for flavor are particularly appealing. Heritability of marbling is relatively high (.3-.4), so genetic selection can result in great progress. Moreover, DNA markers for marbling are well identified, further enhancing genetic potential for change.
As noted meat scientist Dr. Gary Smith stated, “People will pay more for greater satisfaction, and taste is their measure of satisfaction in food.”
Profit-minded beef producers must always pay attention to those wise words.
Source: Certified Angus Beef LLC
