Comparison of quality attributes of buffalo meat curry at different storage temperature.

BACKGROUND The product quality of curry is determined by the food animal source, raw materials and the method of processing. Moreover the scientific information on processing and quality of traditional buffalo meat curry from different groups of buffaloes is not available. This study was undertaken to develop processed curry from different buffalo groups and to compare its quality during storage at ambient and refrigeration temperature. MATERIAL AND METHODS The meat samples were collected from the longissimus dorsi muscle of the carcasses from each group of buffaloes slaughtered according to the traditional halal method. Buffalo meat curry was prepared in a pressure cooker with the standardized formulation. This final product was subjected to evaluation of quality and shelf life. RESULTS To evaluate the effect of different groups of meat samples on the quality of curry, product yield, pH, proximate composition, water activity (aw), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), calorific value, sensory attributes and microbiological assay were determined The energy of meat curry from young buffaloes was significantly lower than the meat curry from spent animal groups. The overall acceptability of curry decreased significantly during 3 days ambient storage compared to refrigeration storage. CONCLUSIONS Scientific processing by adopting good manufacturing practices and suitable packaging helped greatly to improve the shelf life of the ambient temperature stored buffalo meat curry. Buffalo meat curry from young male group showed better product characteristics and overall acceptability scores than spent buffalo group.