Heating temperatures affect meat quality and vibrational spectroscopic properties of slow- and fast-growing chickens

This study determined the effect of water bath cooking (70 & DEG;C and 90 & DEG;C for 40 min) and the extreme heat treatment by an autoclave (121 & DEG;C for 40 min) on the quality of breast meat of a fast-growing chicken, commercial broiler (CB), and slow-growing chickens, Korat chicken (KC), and Thai native chicken (NC) (Leung Hang Khao), by vibrational spectroscopic techniques, including synchrotron radia-tion-based Fourier transform infrared (SR-FTIR) microspectroscopy and Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) spectroscopy. Taste-enhancing com-pounds, including inosine-5'-monophosphate (IMP) and guanosine-5'-monophosphate (GMP), were better retained in cooked KC and NC meats than in cooked CB meat (P < 0.05). The high heat treatment at 121 & DEG; C depleted the amount of insoluble collagen in all breeds (P < 0.05). Shear force values of slow-growing chicken meat were not affected by high heating temperatures (P > 0.05). In addition, the high heat treatment increased protein carbonyl (P < 0.05), while no effect on in vitro protein digestibility (P > 0.05). SR-FTIR microspectroscopy performed better in differentiating the meat quality of different chicken breeds, whereas FT-Raman spectroscopy clearly revealed differences in meat qualities induced by heat-ing temperature. Based on principal component analy-sis (PCA), distinct characteristics of chicken meat cooked at 70 & DEG;C were high water-holding capacity, lightness (L*), moisture content, and predominant a-helix structure, correlating with Raman spectra at 3,217 cm-1 (O-H stretching of water) and 1,651 cm-1 (amide I; a-helix). The high heating temperature at 90 & DEG;C and 121 & DEG;C exposed protein structure to a greater extent, as evidenced by an increase in b-sheets, which was well correlated with the Raman spectra at 2,968 and 2,893 cm-1 (C-H stretching), tryptophan (880 cm-1), tyrosine (858 cm-1), and 1,042, 1,020, and 990 cm-1 (C-C stretching; b-sheet). SR-FTIR and FT -Raman spectroscopy show potential for differentiation of chicken meat quality with respect to breeds and cooking temperatures. The marked differences in wavenumbers would be beneficial as markers for deter-mining the quality of cooked meats from slow-and fast-growing chickens

Automated summary

This study investigated the impact of different cooking methods and temperatures on the quality of chicken meat from fast and slow-growing breeds. The results showed that taste-enhancing compounds were better retained in slow-growing chicken meat, and high heat treatment reduced collagen content in all breeds. The shear force values of slow-growing breeds were not affected by high heat. Spectroscopic techniques were effective in differentiating meat quality based on breed and cooking temperature.