Effect of immersion in juice from early, mid, and late maturing varieties of Iwateyamanashi (Japanese wild pear) on the toughness of bovine muscle.

The effect of immersion in juice from Iwateyamanashi (Japanese wild pear) varieties that mature at different times on the toughness of bovine muscle was investigated. Muscle tissue was obtained from Japanese Shorthorn steers (n = 5). Fruit from three pear varieties was used : i1302, an early variety that matures in July ; i1515, a mid-season variety that matures in August ; and, i0218, a late variety that matures in October. Two treatment groups were established : pre-heated juice, and unheated juice from each variety. For the first group, the juice was heated at 90°C for 10 minutes and then cooled on ice. Juice in the second group was not heated. In both treatment groups, the muscle samples were immersed in juice at 40°C for 1 hour and then heated to 80°C for 3 minutes. The textural properties of the muscle samples were then analyzed. Maximum load and load of gumminess of samples immersed in the unheated i1515 juice group were significantly lower than those in the heated juice group. There were no significant differences in cohesiveness of samples between groups. Nor were there any significant differences in drip loss, cooking loss, and total loss of samples between groups. These results suggested that beef could be tenderized without lowering water holding capacity by immersion in the juice of the i1515 variety of Iwateyamanashi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]