THE EFFECT OF CATTLE GENOTYPE ON TEXTURE OF SELECTED MUSCLES DURING POST-MORTEM AGEING

Changes in textural parameters of selected muscles (m. longissimus lumborum – LL, m. semitendinosus – ST, m. semimembranosus – SM, m. biceps femoris – BF) of pure-breed cattle Charolaise (CHL) and two groups of cross breeds: Hereford×Charolaise (HEF×CHL) and Simental×Charolaise (SIM×CHL) taken on the 3rd, 7th and 12th day of post-mortem cold storage were estimated. Of the four muscles tested, the highest hardness, springiness and chewiness were found in BF, which at the same time showed the highest stringiness, perceptible of connective tissue, cooking loss, and the lowest juiciness. Post mortem ageing resulted in a reduction of hardness, springiness and cooking loss and in an increase of tenderness and purge loss. The rate and dimension of tenderization were relative to the both cattle genotype and muscl