Effective Strategies for Understanding Meat Flavor: A Review

Abstract

This review provides an effective strategy for understanding meat flavor. Understanding the taste of meat is essential for improving meat quality, and the taste should be analyzed based on complex chemical research to identify various factors that impact the composition, formation, and development of meat. To address flavor chemistry in meat, the discussion focuses on the major compounds responsible for the characteristic flavors of different meats, such as lipids, proteins, and Maillard reaction products. Meat flavor is largely based on heat-induced chemical reactions that convert flavor precursors, such as sugars, proteins, and lipids, into volatile compounds. The flavor of meat is influenced by animal species, sex, age, feed, and processing, and in this respect, flavor is one of the representative quality indicators of meat. Research on meat flavor uses omics technology to study the molecular mechanisms that affect meat quality, including flavor, tenderness, and fat composition. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive understanding of the complex processes governing meat flavor and provides avenues for further research and industrial applications to advance the meat industry.

Keywords: flavor analysis; flavor chemistry; flavor factor; meat flavor; omics.

Fig. 1.. A simple overview of the formation of flavor compounds in meat.

Fig. 2.. Analytical methods for assessing meat flavor.