PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF QUAIL MEAT, MEAT LINE

D.Fl. Costăchescu, P.C. Boişteanu, Elena Costăchescu, G.V. Hoha

Abstract
    At this stage the emphasis of all species are bred for meat is not only the quantity but also the qualitative aspect. In the consumer preferences, the data on the quality of quail meat is low, and many of them refer to the quantitative aspect.
    Physico-chemical and sensory properties influence the consumption of the meat product. The sensory analysis performed by the points method noted the succulence and fleshiness of the females from the females compared to that resulting from males with significant differences.
    The taste of the meat is specific, refined and unique, a mixture of chicken and game. Frashiness was also determined by shear forces with the Warner-Bratzler apparatus, which showed that it was 13.76 ± 1.58 N/cm² for chest muscles, and in males 17.85 ± 1.39N/cm².
    For pulp muscles the values were higher, ie in chickens of 35.11 ± 1.39 N/cm² and in the cock of 38.38 ± 2.68 N/cm². The pH value determined 30 minutes after sacrifice showed minor changes in the two sexes. Changes were higher 24 hours after sacrificing to pulp muscles due to their different morphological structure.
    The chemical composition determined in youth in the two sexes did not show any difference, but in adults, the amount of fat is predominant due to existing deposits both in the anterior chest area and in the limbs.

Key words: quails, sensory qualities, chemical properties, pH