SUMMARY—The tenderness of beef was improved by aging. Tenderness decreased with increasing maturity for the cattle evaluated in this investigation. During the early stages of aging, samples were more tender from control animals than from ante‐mortem‐stressed cattle, but this difference was eliminated by the end of the aging periods. Water‐holding capacity and juiciness scores were increased by ante‐mortem stress treatments. WHC and juiciness scores decreased during aging. Tenderness scores were correlated significantly with WHC values and juiciness scores at the termination of the low‐temperature aging period. Transfer of moisture and mineral ions during aging appeared to be associated with the changes involved in the development and resolution of rigor mortis and improved tenderization of the meat. AS tenderness improved during aging, extractable sodium, magnesium, and calcium were released from the muscle proteins, while potassium, phosphate, and nitrogen were retained. These components changed radically during the early stages of aging, with movement and transfer more uniform during the latter stages.Magnesium was the only mineral component present in the exudate of the water‐holding‐capacity determination that appeared to be related to tenderness. A relationship existed between physiological cell maturity and the ability of the meat to transfer and bind cellular magnesium. Tenderness decreased as the quantity of magnesium decreased in the exudate from the water‐holding‐capacity determination.The pH of meat was increased by broiling, while the pH of the exudate decreased when meat samples were cooked in the water‐h
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