Direct Rub Inoculation of Fungal Flora Changes Fatty Acid Composition and Volatile Flavors in Dry-Aged Beef: A Preliminary Study

• Published in: Animals (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 11; p. 1391
• Main Authors: Mikami, Nana, Toyotome, Takahito, Takaya, Masahiro, Tamura, Kenichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28.05.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Adhesion; Aging; Aging (natural); Aromatic compounds; Beef; Chemical composition; Communication; Composition; direct rub inoculation; dry-aged beef; Fatty acid composition; Fatty acids; Flavor compounds; Flavors; Fungal flora; Fungi; Humidity; Inoculation; Lipids; Meat; Methods; Mold; Mucoraceae; nutty flavor; Oleic acid; Production methods; Relative humidity; volatile aromatic compounds; Volatile compounds; White mold; United States > US; Japan; dry-aged beef; Mucoraceae; nutty flavor; direct rub inoculation; volatile aromatic compounds; oleic acid
• ISSN: 2076-2615; 2076-2615
• DOI: 10.3390/ani12111391

Here, we established a method to produce dry-aged beef (DAB) by rub inoculation with fungal flora on the prepared DAB surface. Portions of Holstein steers’ rumps were prepared by direct rub inoculation of fungal flora or without treatment (conventional DAB) and dry-aged for 26 days in an aging room at 2.9 °C and 90% relative humidity. We compared the fungal covering and meat quality, including fatty acid composition and volatile aromatic compounds, of fungal-inoculated DAB with those of the conventional DAB. The fungal-inoculated DAB was almost entirely covered with white mold, in contrast to the conventional DAB. Moreover, the proportion of oleic acid and the concentration of nine volatile compounds significantly increased in the raw meat of fungal-inoculated DAB compared with those in the conventional DAB (p < 0.05). These results suggested that direct rub inoculation of fungal flora from prepared DAB may accelerate DAB production and efficiently enhance the “melt-in-the-mouth” feeling and flavors of DAB.