WARMED‐OVER FLAVOR IN COOKED MEATS

SUMMARY –Conditions leading to the development of warmed‐over flavor in uncured cooked meat were studied. Beef muscle which had been thoroughly extracted with water did not develop warmed‐over flavor indicating that the substance responsible for initiating the reaction was water soluble. A water extract from muscle tissue was fractionated by dialysis and column chromatography, and the various fractions were added back to water‐extracted tissue. The development of warmed‐over flavor in this system was followed by TBA analysis and odor evaluation. Heme compounds were found to have little effect on the development of warmed‐over flavor in this system. The reaction was apparently catalyzed by ferrous iron and ascorbate. It is considered that ascorbic acid functions by keeping at least a portion of the iron in the ferrous state. At higher levels ascorbic acid inhibited the reaction, possibly by upsetting a balance between ferrous and ferric iron.