Chaidamu cattle are a cattle breed originating from the edge of the Chaidamu Basin in Qinghai Province, which can adapt to severe cold, drought and plateau hypoxia, and their meat is delicious as one of the important local animal husbandry resources. By investigating the general slaughter age and referring to the appropriate slaughtering age, this study selected male and female Chaidamu cattle for slaughter at 2 and 6 years of age, respectively. Seven beef cuts including striploin, rump, shoulder, outside flat, knuckle, tendon and flank were taken from each gender for evaluation of nutritional quality and processing characteristics. The results showed that there were large differences in quality and processing suitability among beef cuts and between genders. The protein content of all beef samples was 14.78%–22.55%, the highest value being observed in cow rump (22.55%) and knuckle (21.81%). The fat content was 1.08%–2.72%, with 0.25 percentage points being observed in cow than bull beef. The hardness of bull outside flat was the highest (6148.28 g), followed by bull rump (5819.53 g), and the hardness of cow knuckle (2110.02 g) and bull flank (2586.41 g) was the lowest. Shear force was highest in bull outside flat (11.17 kg) and lowest in cow striploin (5.70 kg). Cooking loss was highest in bull shoulder (51.37%) and cow shoulder (45.62%), and lowest in cow rump (33.43%) and bull tendon (34.19%). The highest and lowest emulsifying capacity were observed in bull knuckle (14.56 g/mL) and bull flank (6.74 g/mL), respectively. Bull shoulder and rump exhibited the highest (84.24%) and lowest (53.59%) gel water retention, respectively. Other indicators such as pH, moisture content, color difference, thawing loss, and emulsion stability were quite different among beet cuts and between genders, which determines the processing suitability of different beef cuts from cows and bulls. Beef rump is suitable for processing minced meat, sausage, and steamed or boiled products; bull outside flat is suitable for processing beef jerky products; beef flank is suitable for processing quick-frozen pre-fried or pre-roasted products; bull shoulder is suitable for processing emulsified meat products; cow shoulder is suitable for processing fried, roasted or instant boiled products; beef tendon is suitable for processing spiced products.

In order to explore the differences in meat quality characteristics and processing suitability of different carcass parts of Nanyang cattle, the brisket, shank, eye round, shoulder meat and rump meat of Nanyang cattle slaughtered at 24 months of age were evaluated for their nutritional quality, pH value, shear force, and gelling and emulsifying characteristics. The results showed that among the five parts, the shoulder meat had the highest moisture content (77.14%), the worst gel elasticity, the highest pH value (5.82) and the best gel water-holding capacity (60.48%), which was suitable for the development of minced meat and grilled/barbecued meat products. The rump meat had the lowest pH value (5.66), the highest thawing loss rate (18.64%), and the best emulsion stability (48.13%), which was suitable for processing minced meat products. The brisket had the highest hardness, chewability and shear force, poor tenderness, the worst emulsion stability (37.99%), the highest cooking loss rate (34.88%), and low thawing loss, which was suitable for processing frozen meat products and grilled/barbecued meat products. The eye round had high protein content (20.01%) and low fat content (0.71%), a bright color, and low cooking loss, and was therefore suitable for processing steamed or boiled meat products. The thawing loss rate (6.55%) and cooking loss rate (28.60%) of the shank were the smallest, which was suitable for the preparation of soy sauce and pot-roast meat products.

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of using pretreated cattle skin as an ingredient in minced meat products. The effects of soaking temperature, sodium carbonate concentration, amount of iced water used during cow skin disruption, and amount of cow skin to beef on the texture characteristics, color, sensory score, yield of beef meatballs and pH of meat mince were investigated by one-at-a-time method. Furthermore, these parameters were optimized by response surface methodology. The results showed that the amounts of iced water and cow skin used significantly affected the sensory score and yield of beef meatballs (P < 0.05). The highest sensory score (82.9) and yield (120.5%) were obtained when 10% (m/m) sodium carbonate was added during cattle skin pretreatment, 219% (m/m) iced water was added during cow skin disruption, and 13% pretreated cattle skin was added to minced beef. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for further research on the effect of cow skin on the quality of beef meatballs.

Meat is rich in protein and contains the essential amino acids required for the human body. The ratio among amino acids in meat is close to that needed for the growth and maintenance of human tissues. The nutritional value of meat is mainly evaluated by its protein content and essential amino acid pattern, but the digestibility of meat protein has received little research attention. The digestibility of protein can be affected by various factors such as protein source, muscle fiber type, protein oxidation degree, and processing technology. Improving the digestibility of meat protein is essential for human growth and maintenance, and it can also prevent some diseases. This article systematically summarizes and categorizes the external and internal factors affecting meat protein digestibility, and discusses the current status of research on those factors, hoping to guide and help the processing and utilization of meat protein.

The characteristic odorants in duck breast, leg and clavicle meat cooked at 60 and 90 ℃ were analyzed by headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) and were identified by sensory evaluation, electronic nose measurement and flavor substance evaluation. The results showed that duck breast, leg and clavicle meat cooked at 90 ℃ had a stronger odor than at 60 ℃, and there were differences in the odor characteristics of different groups of duck meat samples, which was also confirmed by electronic nose analysis. A total of 61 volatile flavor compounds were identified by HS-GC-IMS. The types of volatile substances in different groups of duck meat samples were basically the same, but there were differences in their relative contents. Based on the sensory evaluation results and the relative odor activity values (ROAV) of flavor substances, a total of 12 characteristic odorants were identified, including nonanal, octanal, heptanal, decanal, pentanal, hexanal, (E)-2-octenal, (E)-2-heptenal, 2-methyl-butanal, 3-methyl-butanal, 2-heptanone and 1-octene-3-ol. The interaction between these substances contributed significantly to the formation of the odor of duck meat. Due to the differences in the types and contents of odorants, duck meat samples cooked at 60 and 90 ℃ had distinct odor characteristics.

1,3-Diacylglycerol (DAG) has been well recognized as a safe food component. The metabolic pathway of DAG in the body is different from that of triacylglycerol, and DAG has been demonstrated to contribute to improving metabolism and preventing obesity and cardiovascular diseases. However, the mass fraction of natural DAG in edible oils and fats is less than 10%, so the preparation of high-purity DAG has received widespread attention in recent years. Enzymatic synthesis is the method of choice for the industrial preparation of DAG due to the advantages of eco-friendliness, safety and desirable selectivity over chemical synthesis. Edible livestock and poultry fats, as by-products of slaughter and processing, have a special flavor and nutritional value. However, their undesirable physicochemical properties, especially high melting points and high levels of saturated fatty acids and cholesterols, highly limit their applications in the food industry. In light of this, the synthesis of DAG from edible livestock and poultry fats is a promising approach for their high-value utilization. The current status of the enzymatic synthesis and the potential application of DAG from livestock and poultry fats are reviewed in this article. It is anticipated that this review will provide new ideas for researchers interested in the enzymatic preparation and high-value utilization of DAG from livestock and poultry fats.

This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of utilizing emulsified fat to produce low-fat emulsified beef sausage. The impact of different levels (0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%) of emulsified fat substitution for fat in traditional beef sausage on its quality properties was examined. The findings revealed that as the percentage of emulsified fat replacement increased, there was a slight rise in cooking loss and a significant increase in water content of emulsified beef sausage (P<0.05). Additionally, protein content decreased, fat content significantly decreased (P < 0.05), but no notable difference observed in ash content. The brightness value gradually increased. Both hardness and chewiness were notably reduced (P < 0.05). Rheological analysis indicated a decreasing trend in the initial viscosity of minced meat. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results demonstrated that the internal void diameter decreased with increasing levels of emulsified fat replacement. Sensory evaluation showed no significant difference among all fat replacement groups. Overall, incorporating emulsified fat into emulsified beef sausage can effectively lower its fat content while enhancing its tenderness and maintaining its overall acceptability.