Date of Award:

5-1963

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences

Department name when degree awarded

Food and Nutrition

Committee Chair(s)

Ethelwyn B. Wilcox

Committee

Ethelwyn B. Wilcox

Committee

Margaret B. Merkley

Committee

Carroll I. Draper

Abstract

Protein was the first substance recognized as a vital part of living tissue. About 18 percent of the human body is in the form of protein, and certain protein constituents can be obtained only from dietary sources. Since meat is the chief source of protein in the normal diet, this study was aimed primarily at factors influencing quality of meat. The problem included two particular meats, lamb and turkey.

The per capita consumption of lamb in the United States is lower than that for any other meat. In 1944 in the United States 6.7 pounds of lamb were eaten per capita. This amount decreased to a low of 3.4 pounds in 1951 but was followed by an increase. In 1958, a new low of 4.1 pounds per capita consumption was reported. Several factors such as regional differences, customs, supply, and habits can be listed as factors influencing these changes.

The Western United States represents almost half of the total sheep production in this country, and Utah ranks among the leading Western states. Sheep and lambs produced on Utah farms in 1961 totaled 1,188,000 and represented a dollar value of $19,483,000.

Palatability and tenderness of lamb can be attributed directly to the quality of the animal at the time of slaughter. Quality is determined by several factors including fat covering, which in turn is determined by the feeding regime. Thus, the producer is vitally concerned with the best feeding plan to produce the highest quality animal, while the housewife is likewise looking for the best buy for her money.

The objective of the first phase of this study was to show the effect of varying rates of weight gain on palatability and tenderness of lamb.

The year 1960 was a revolution to the turkey industry with a one third increase of turkey production over the previous year. In the years since the World War II, turkey consumption in the United States has nearly doubled. This can be attributed to the fact that convenience was greatly increased with the availability of eviscerated ready-to-cook turkeys, the availability of frozen turkeys throughout the entire year, some decline in prices of turkey meat compared with most other meats, and the fact that smaller turkeys or parts of the whole carcass were available as well as other factors.

Many recent advances in processing turkeys have been made to decrease the time and labor spent. Technical machinery and newer methods are now used to produce the oven-ready birds. Factors, such as scalding time and temperatures, methods of feather removal, chilling time and chilling methods, freezing rates, and cooking methods have been shown to have an influence on the tenderness of turkey. As new methods and machinery are developed for shortening processing time, the effect on the tenderness of the final product should be a prime consideration.

It was the primary objective of the second phase of this study to show the effect of length of chilling time as influenced by method of chilling on the tenderness of roasted turkeys. Other variables that were considered were sex differences, method of feather removal, and method of cooking.

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