Karen Lindau puts her taste
buds to work on a sample of
prime beef steak at a Meats
and Muscle Biology Depart
ment’s taste session. As
part of the department’s
sensory panel, eight mem
bers do taste tests of meats
for juiciness, flavor desir
ability, muscle fiber and over
all tenderness and the a-
mount of connective tissue.
Photo bv Sam Stroder
By MARCY BOYCE
Battalion Reporter
Breakfast for the average stu
dent here might range from a bowl
of cereal and a couple of doughnuts
tn Sbisa’s infamous eggs. But
across tfie tracks in the Kleberg
Sing it's a different story. For
faTfSays'-SAn^^;
yet, already cut into bite-size
pieces.
These graduate students,
Jnn with a technician and two fac-
alongwit ^ the de p ar t-
“"entTsensory panel, which does
S taste tests ol beef, pork, lamb
d H^rcasionally goat, for jucmess,
flavor desirability, muscle . fl f. e e r
and overall tenderness and the
amount of connective tissue.
Because this type of scoring re-
nu^s more knowledge than an
averaoe consumer might have,
araduate students within the de-
^Lrtment are recruited as volun-
£e?s said research scientist Bob _
Hostetler. He is in charge of the
sensory panel and has been a par-
During the test, up to eight
panelists are seated at a par
titioned table against a wall. Each
booth has a window with a sliding
door through which eight samples
of meat are distributed to each par
ticipant by technicians in an adjoin
ing room, the Food Preparation
Lab.
This arrangement, Hostetler
said, insures that the scores do not
reflect any reactions to those doing
the preparation and serving.
“I’m always hungry,” said
panelist Karen Lindau, a technician
in the department. “And it’s a pretty
good breakfast.”
non-homogeneous,” he ^ ajd A | so
personal preference is ah, nth _ r f ’
tor which determines th* „ ore
Davey Griffin said his ^ nj ent
of the panel depends | * on
what they are testing. £0^3^.
he said, he doesn t like
Some of the rneat js
owned by Texas ^&M Hostet|er
said, but some is owned . Texas
companies interested i n ^ re
One company in H 0ljston he
said, is having compari^ 1 ®
on the tenderness of ^
chased from Packers dif(e P ent
sections of the country.
Precision in the P r ep^ ratj f
the meat before test.g
some prob'ems^ We ha^g a con _
flict between cooking t^ e wa g
housewife does and c °oking such
that it can be repeated, Ho y stet|er
said.
First, the pieces of me^ t
3 orecise size. Then tw^ •
are cut
Data collected from the N ane | ists
is used in research to an^™ 1 ® 1 ®
ferent methods of P r o^ e ssinq
Hostetler said, as well as Variables
which contribute to a lon^ er s ^ e |f
life for meats, such as free^ ing and
packaging.
But, Hostetler said, ^ahderness
and ways of changing th§ tender
ness are our primary inter es t.”
One of the methods rssgarched
several years ago was th e Texas
A&M Tenderstretch, developed by
Hostetler and Dr. Bernard Link,
who is no longer here.
By changing the manner in
which the carcass is suspended
after slaughtering, Hostetler said,
the tenderness of the muscles from
which most steaks are roasts beef
was improved.
Nevertheless, Lindau said she
usually spits out the samples after
chewing them, to keep from gain
ing weight.
After chewing the sample, partic
ipants score them on a scale from
one to eight. The scores, Hostetler
said, are sometimes similar, but at
other times vary greatly.
“Panelists really shouldn’t score
the same because meat is so
This idea was not implemented
on the commercial market, he said,
because it changed the appear
ance of many of the cuts and would
also cause a slaughtering house to
be modified.
Currently, Hostetler said, they
are researching electro-shock as a
method of killing the animals to im
prove the meat’s tenderness.
Policy: Focus will accept any stories, drawings or
photographs that are submitted for publication, al
though the decision to publish lies solely with the
editor. Pieces submitted, printed or not, will be re
turned upon request. Deadline is 5 p.m. the
Thursday before publication.
Contributing to this issue were: Lee Roy Les-
chper Jr., Louie Arthur, Margaret Johnson, Marcy
Boyce, Ken Herrera, Sam Stroder and Jim Collett.
Editor: Beth Calhoun
Assistant Editor: Doug Graham
On the Cover: The top photograph shows the
Spoetzl Brewery as it was in 1909. The bottom is
the brewery today. Photos courtesy of the Spoetzl
Brewery.
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