The Effect of Cooking Method and Cooked Color on Consumer Acceptability of Boneless Pork Chops

Abstract

The objective was to determine the effects of sous-vide cooking and degree of doneness on consumer eating experience of pork chops when cooked color was expected to differ. The hypothesis was consumers would prefer a cooked brown color and would rate grilled chops more acceptable than sous-vide chops. Chops were cooked to 63 °C or 71 °C using either an open-hearth grill or a sous-vide device. Participants evaluated four samples for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall acceptability. Participants rated a greater percentage of chops cooked sous-vide at 63 °C as tender (82.82%), juicy (55.83%) and acceptable (60.34%) compared with all other cooking method and degree of doneness combinations. Participants rated a greater percentage of sous-vide chops as tender and acceptable compared to grilled chops. Participants rated a greater percentage of chops cooked to 63 °C as tender, juicy, flavorful, and acceptable when compared to 71 °C. Even when participants could visualize cooked color, they preferred chops cooked to 63 °C compared with chops cooked to 71 °C. Overall, participants preferred chops cooked to 63 °C compared to 71 °C regardless of the cooking method and preferred chops cooked to 63 °C using the sous-vide cooking method the most among all treatments.

Keywords: consumer preference; cooked color; degree of doneness; grill; pork; sous-vide.

Figure 1

Set of photographs displaying chops cooked to various degrees of doneness used for pre- and post-survey questions. Images display a cooked chop illustrating rare, medium-rare, medium, medium-well, and well done.