Can the Suspension Method (Tenderstretch vs. Achilles Tendon) Enhance Horsemeat Quality?
Ana Kaić, Barbara Luštrek, Silvester Žgur, Klemen Potočnik, Giuseppe Pulina · 2024
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Description
How a carcass hangs while it ages can stretch or slacken its muscles, and butchers have long debated whether hanging by the pelvis (tenderstretch) beats hanging by the Achilles tendon. Ana Kaić and co-authors tested both methods on 25 horse carcasses in 2024. Each carcass was split lengthwise, one side hung each way, then aged seven days under commercial conditions.
The two muscles studied differed plenty on their own. The loin was tenderer with less cooking loss, while the leg muscle was lighter in color with longer sarcomeres, the tiny units of muscle fiber. Tenderstretch did lengthen sarcomeres slightly, by about 0.13 micrometers on average. It did not, though, improve pH, water holding, or tenderness. The authors conclude that after seven days of aging, suspension method alone does not lift horsemeat quality, and other levers, like aging time, matter more.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Ana Kaić, Barbara Luštrek, Silvester Žgur, Klemen Potočnik, Giuseppe Pulina |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2024 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 40 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |