Poultry Science (Sep 2020)

Effects of microbial fermentation on the flavor of cured duck legs

  • Zhendong Cai,
  • Yifan Ruan,
  • Jun He,
  • Yali Dang,
  • Jinxuan Cao,
  • Yangying Sun,
  • Daodong Pan,
  • Hongwei Tian

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 99, no. 9
pp. 4642 – 4652

Abstract

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In this study, fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae was applied to improve the flavor of cured duck leg meat. Odor and taste evaluations, lipid oxidation, volatile flavor substances, and protein degradation were determined to investigate the effects of microbial fermentation on flavor improvement. The results showed that the utilization of L. plantarum represented the most significant effect on lipid peroxidation inhibition (the lowest value of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and the highest content of polyunsaturated fatty acids) and also enhanced the generation of volatile flavor substances than nonfermented duck meat. Microbial fermentation accelerated protein degradation in duck meat. S. cerevisiae could produce glutamate to promote the umami taste flavor of cured duck leg meat, and L. plantarum significantly improved the sweet taste by releasing alanine. Meanwhile, mixed fermentation with the two microbial species resulted in the combination of both of their advantages. These findings not only indicate the potential application of microbial fermentation in characteristic duck meat but also indicate that fermentation improves sensory properties of duck products significantly.

Keywords