Effect of lactic acid, calcium chloride and papain on the physico-chemical and sensory qualities of turkey meat chunks

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of lactic acid (LA), calcium chloride (CaCl₂) and papain marination on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of turkey meat chunks. For this, three groups of meat chunks i.e. control (marination with distilled water), T₁ (0.15M LA + 0.15M CaCl₂) and T₂ (0.15% papain + 0.15M LA + 0.15M CaCl₂) were dipped into marinating solution at 4±1°C for about 36 hours, drained off excess solution and autoclaved for 10 min at 15 lb pressure after addition of 2% salt. Results showed the treated samples had significantly (P= 0.05) lower cooked release volume (CRV), higher cooking yield and lower pH values. Appearance and colour and flavour scores of treated meat samples were significantly (P≤0.05) lower than control. The juiciness, texture and tenderness and overall acceptability scores in T₁ batch were significantly (P≤ 0.05) higher than control and T₂ samples. Papain at 0.15% level along with LA and CaCl₂ significantly (P≤ 0.05) lowered the organoleptic scores of all the sensory attributes when compared to control and T₁ batches. Study suggests that LA and CaCl₂ marination of turkey meat chunks is a useful tool to improve the acceptability of tough turkey meat.