2025 Volume 96 Issue 1 Pages 19-30
The aim of this study is to clarify the difference in meat quality between Japanese Black cattle (JB) and Australian Wagyu (AUS). Using the M. longissimus thoracis and intermuscular fat from 18 JB and 18 AUS, a physico-chemical analysis and analytical sensory evaluation were performed. The intramuscular fat content was 49.8% for JB and 23.2% for AUS (P<0.05). Cooking loss, shear force value, and the contents of many free amino acids and the ATP degradation products of JB were lower than those of AUS. In the intramuscular fat, JB had slightly higher contents of oleic and monounsaturated fatty acids than AUS. In the intermuscular fat, the fat melting point of JB was lower by 4°C than that of AUS. The fatty acid indexes of oleic acid and monounsaturated fatty acid (each fatty acid %×ether extract / 100) were more than twofold higher for JB than for AUS. With regard to the water-soluble taste index (taste content / moisture×100), the glutamic acid index was higher in JB than in AUS, although the index of the 5’-inosinic acid was lower in JB than in AUS. In the sensory evaluation, it was observed that JB was more tender and juicier and had a stronger fatty aroma, sweet aroma, and Wagyu beef aroma (sweet and fatty aroma), and higher overall acceptability compared with AUS. These results indicate that JB had a significantly high intramuscular fat content, slightly different fat quality, and different sensory evaluation properties compared with AUS.
