Taste panel socio-economic characteristics and the organoleptic properties of rabbit meat cooked by five different methods

Forty New Zealand rabbits weighing 1.8-2.0kg (live weight) were used for this study. They were starved overnight, slaughtered and dressed conventionally. The carcasses were then allotted randomly to five different cooking methods namely, boiling, frying, roasting, boiling + frying and boiling + roasting. Assessment of the sensory characteristics (tenderness, flavour, juiciness and overall acceptability) was carried out on a 9-point hedonic scale by a 50-member taste panel. Some of the socio-economic characteristics of the taste panel studied included their age, sex, educational background and monthly income. Fifty eight percent (58%) of the taste panel was female. Majority (66%) fell within the 29-34 years age bracket and 76% had Tertiary education. Twelve to twenty percent (12-20%) earned between N10, 000- N20,000($78.74 - $157.48) while 32% earned above N20,000(above $157.48). Fifty six percent (56%) of the members of the taste panel consume rabbit meat while 29.03% ranked rabbit meat least among meat types. The nutritional qualities assessed for were then subjected to statistical analysis. The cooking methods used did not have any significant effect (p>0.05) on the eating quality of rabbit meat. The highest scores for tenderness and juiciness were recorded for rabbit meat cooked by roasting while the highest scores for flavour and overall acceptability were recorded for meat cooked by frying. Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences Vol. 3 (2) 2005: pp.139-14