Author(s)

Johnson K. Mwove¹, Lilian A. Gogo¹, Ben N. Chikamai², Mary N. Omwamba¹, Symon M. Mahungu^1*

¹Dairy and Food Science and Technology Department, Egerton University, Egerton, Kenya.
²Kenya Forest Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya.

It was of interest to determine the water holding effect of the gum from the Acacia senegal var. kerensis in extended beef rounds. Beef rounds injected at two injection levels (30% and 35% over green weight) with curing brines containing gum arabic at 1%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5% and 3.0% of the final product were investigated. A non-injected sample and a product injected with soy protein concentrate (SPC) at 3.5% of the final product weight were prepared for comparison. Mean results indicated that the level of gum arabic from Acacia senegal var. kerensis used in curing brines significantly increased the cook yield and reduced the extractable moisture in cooked extended beef rounds. The injection of beef with curing brine also significantly increased the cook yield and the extractable moisture of the extended beef rounds as compared to the non-injected beef samples. Both injection and gum levels had a significant effect on the proximate composition and sensory properties of the resulting beef rounds. Sensory analysis revealed that samples containing gum arabic at 2.5% were juicier and comparable to those containing SPC at 3.5% injection level. Furthermore, these samples had the highest overall preference comparable to samples injected with curing brines containing SPC. This is the first report on the physicochemical properties of extended beef rounds containing gum arabic from Acacia senegal var. kerensis.

Gum Arabic, Expressible Moisture, Extended Beef Rounds, Curing Brine Injection

K. Mwove, J. , A. Gogo, L. , N. Chikamai, B. , N. Omwamba, M. and M. Mahungu, S. (2016) Preparation and Quality Evaluation of Extended Beef Rounds Containing Gum Arabic from Acacia senegal var. kerensis. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 7, 977-988. doi: 10.4236/fns.2016.711096.