ABSTRACT
Meat flavor is thermally derived, as uncooked meat has little or no aroma and only a bloodlike taste. During cooking, a complex series of thermally induced reactions between nonvolatile components of lean and fatty tissues occur, resulting in a large number of reaction products. The volatile compounds formed in these reactions are largely responsible for the characteristic flavors associated with cooked meat. An examination of the literature relating to the volatile compounds found in meat indicates that more than 1000 volatile compounds have been identified. A much larger number have been identified in beef than in other meats, but this is reflected in the much larger number of publications for beef compared with pork, sheep meat, or poultry [1, 2]. The thermally induced reactions occurring during heating that provide meat flavor are principally the Maillard reaction, between amino acids and reducing sugars, and the degradation of lipid. Both types of reaction involve complex reaction pathways, leading to a wide range of products, which account for the large number of volatile compounds found in cooked meat. Heterocyclic compounds, especially those containing sulfur, are important flavor compounds produced in the Maillard reaction; they provide savory, meaty, roast, and boiled flavors. Lipid degradation produces compounds that give fatty aromas to cooked meat and compounds that determine some of the aroma differences between meats from different species.
