Abstract
Postmortem changes in the concentrations of amino acids, adenosine triphosphate-related compounds and other compounds in chicken breast muscle stored at 0 and 10°C were examined in relation to the taste intensity of chicken soup prepared from the stored muscle. The concentrations of most of the free and combined amino acids, ammonia, inosine and hypoxanthine increased, but that of inosine 5'-monophosphate (IMP) decreased during storage.
The concentrations of IMP and glutamic acid changed almost linearly during storage, so that the taste intensity value in Yamaguchi's equation (S. Yamaguchi : J. Food Sci., 32, 473 (1967)) could be written as a function of storage time. The equation shows that the taste intensity of chicken soup must reach a maximum value when the muscle has been stored for 7.86 days at 0°C. From a sensory evaluation using Scheffe's method, chicken soup prepared from the muscle stored for 7-8 days at 0°C confirmed this hypothesis by showing the highest taste intensity.
