Determination of Furosine and Fluorescence as Markers of the Maillard Reaction for the Evaluation of Meat Products during Actual Cooking Conditions

During food processing and cooking, various flavor compounds, colored substances and toxic substances are produced by the Maillard reaction. It is important to investigate the relationship between the Maillard reaction products and the actual cooking conditions. Therefore, we investigated the effects of seasonings and reaction conditions on the Maillard reaction of meat using furosine and fluorescent compounds. The addition of 1.0% NaCl decreased the reaction rate of the Maillard reaction measured by furosine in Glc - meat reaction. However, the reaction rate of meat with added sucrose did not change. Furosine content in meat with added sucrose increased rapidly when it was pan-broiled and fried, but increased slowly at the beginning when it was baked in a gas oven. The fluorescence of broiled meat showed a maximum at 333/425 nm (exc./em.) and is a useful indicator of the Maillard reaction of meat samples. The rate of increasing fluorescence in baked meat was lower than that of meat heated by other cooking methods.