[P2.122]
Grassy flavour in beef: A well-established notion called into question J. Messadene-Chelali*, P.-A. Dufey
Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux, Switzerland
Beef produced on grassland despite its positive image, is described as having an intense grassy flavour (Larick et al., 1987) not well appreciated by the American consumer (Priolo et al., 2001).
Produced on mountain grasslands having vegetation rich in dicotyledons, beef could have an even more intense grassy flavour. The aim of this study was to verify the presence of this flavour and to measure its intensity.
Trial 1 (A): 43 Herens breed steers fattened either on pastures at 1200m altitude in two mountain regions, the Valais Alps and the Swiss Jura, or on a maize and alfalfa silage ration.
Trial 2 (B): 45 bullocks, same conditions as for (A), the animals in the Valais Alps being grazed at 1800m altitude.
Trial 3 (C): 36 steers and heifers of the Herens, Angus and Holstein breeds, grazed on the plain or in the Valais Alps at 1800m altitude.
The ‘grassy flavour’ was rated on a non-structured 10-point scale by eight trained panellists. Meats (A) and (B) underwent consumer testing.
In (A), after two weeks of aging, no difference in terms of grassiness of flavour emerged. In (B), after three weeks of aging, the grassy flavour was significantly greater in animals that were grazed, with 2.5 intensity points as opposed to 1.6 for the control group. This does not match the intensity cited in the literature. Moreover, the Swiss consumers (n=827) gave similar ratings to these meats. Despite the effects taken into account in (C), no difference emerged between treatments. The reasons for this, however, are still unclear.
On the whole, the meat of grazed animals does not exhibit particular sensorial characteristics.
Contrary to the findings of the North American studies, the grassy flavour remains rather low independently of the breed, the sex, or the type of pastures (plain or mountain).
Keywords: Grassy flavour, grass-fed production, beef quality, sensory analysis
