Abstract
Sheepmeat (the flesh of Ovis aries) is eaten by millions of people all over the world and is probably eaten in every country to some extent. There are no religious or cultural taboos on eating sheepmeat, which contrasts sharply with the taboos that apply to beef (Hindu) and pork (Moslem, Jewish). Nevertheless, many people avoid sheepmeat because they object to its odour (especially during cooking) and/or its flavour. The Chinese even have a special word for the disagreeable cooking odour of sheepmeat, ‘soo’, meaning sweaty, sour (Wong, 1975). Even in those Western countries that have a greater acceptance of sheepmeat, many dislike it, particularly the meat from mature animals with its apparently stronger odour and flavour. Also, the relatively high melting point of sheep fat contributes to a ‘waxy’ mouthfeel that is unacceptable to many. On a cool plate the fat tends to harden rapidly, which contrasts with the more oily character of, say, pork fat.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bailey, M.E., Shin-Lee, S.Y., Dupuy, H.P., St. Angelo, A.J. and Vercellotti, J.R. (1987). In Warmed-over Flavor of Meat, eds. A.J. St. Angelo and M.E. Bailey. Academic Press, Orlando, pp. 237–266.
Baines, D.A. and Mlotkiewicz, J.A. (1984). In Recent Advances in the Chemistry of Meat, ed. A.J. Bailey, Roy. Soc. Chem., Special Publ. No. 47.
Barnicoat, C.R. and Shorland, F.B. (1952). New Zealand lamb and mutton. Part II. Chemical composition of edible tissues. N. Z. J. Sci. Technol., 5, 16–23.
Batcher, O.M., Brant, A.W. and Kunze, M.S. (1969). Sensory evaluation of lamb and yearling mutton flavors. J. Food Sci., 34, 272–274.
Bensadoun, A. and Reid, J.T. (1965). Effect of physical form, composition and level of intake of diet on the fatty acid composition of the sheep carcass. J. Nutrition, 87, 239– 244.
Berry, B.W., Cross, H.R. and Smith, G.C. (1989). Processing, chemical, sensory and physical properties of bacon chopped and formed, made from pork, beef, mutton and chevon. J. Musc. Foods, 1, 45–57.
Block, E. (1985). The chemistry of garlic and onions. Sci. Am., 252, 94–99.
Bramblett, V.D., Judge, M.D. and Vail, G.E. (1963). Stress during growth. II. Effects on palatability and cooking characteristics of lamb meat. J. Anim. Sci., 22, 1064–1067.
Brennand, C.P. and Lindsay, R.C. (1982). Sensory discrimination of species-related meat flavors. Lebensm. Wiss. u. Technol., 15, 249–252.
Broad, T.E. and Davies, A.S. (1980). Pre-and postnatal study of carcass growth of sheep. 1. Growth of dissectable fat and its chemical components. Anim. Prod., 31, 63–71.
Brown, G.I. (1989). New Zealand tallow markets: a survey of opportunities. Meat Ind. Res. Inst. N.Z. (Hamilton, New Zealand). Publ. No. RM 185.
Busboom, J.R., Miller, G.J., Field, R.A., Crouse, J.D., Riley, M.L., Nelms, G.E. and Ferrell, C.L. (1981). Characteristics of fat from heavy ram and wether lambs. J. Anim. Sci., 52, 83–92.
Butler-Hogg, B.W. (1984). The growth of Clun and Southdown sheep: body composition and the positioning of total body fat. Anim. Prod., 39, 405–411.
Butler-Hogg, B.W. and Brown, A.J. (1986). Muscle weight distribution in lambs: a comparison of entire male and female. Anim. Prod., 42, 343–348.
Buttery, R.G., Ling, L.C., Teranishi, R. and Mon, T.R. (1977). Roasted lamb fat: basic volatile components. J. Agric. Food Chem., 25, 1227–1229.
Caporaso, F., Sink, J.D., Dimick, P.S., Mussinan, C.J. and Sanderson, A. (1977). Volatile flavor constituents of ovine adipose tissue. J. Agric. Food Chem., 25, 1230–1233.
Cassens, R.G., Greaser, M.L., Ito, T. and Lee, M. (1979). Reactions of nitrite in meat. Food Technol., 33(7), 46–55.
Chrystall, B.B. and West, J. (1991). Composition of New Zealand Foods. 4. Beef and lamb. Meat Ind. Res. Inst. N.Z. (Inc.) and N.Z. Govt., Dept. Sci. Ind. Res. (in preparation).
Cramer, D.A. (1983). Chemical compounds implicated in lamb flavour. Food Technol., 37(5), 249–257.
Cramer, D.A., Barton, R.A., Shorland, F.B. and Czochanska, Z. (1967). A comparison of the effects of white clover (Trifolium repens) and of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) on fat composition and flavour of lamb. J. Agric. Sci., 69, 367–373.
Cramer, D.A., Pruett, J.B., Kattnig, R.M. and Schwartz, W.C. (1970a). Comparing breeds of sheep. I. Flavor differences. Proc. Western Sect. Am. Soc. Anim. Sci., 21, 267a–271a.
Cramer, D.A., Pruett, J.B., Swanson, V.B., Schwartz, W.C, Kattnig, R.M., Phillips, B.R. and Wookey, R.E. (1970b). Comparing breeds of sheep. II. Carcass characteristics. Proc. Western Sect. Am. Soc. Anim. Sci., 21, 267b–272b.
Cross, C.K. and Ziegler, P. (1965). A comparison of the volatile fractions from cured and uncured meat. J. Food Sci., 30, 610–614.
Crouse, J.D. (1983). The effects of breed, sex, slaughter weight, and age on lamb flavor. Food Techno., 37(5), 264–268.
Crouse, J.D., Field, R.A., Chant, G., Jr., Ferrell, C.L., Smith, G.M. and Harrison, V.L. (1978). Effect of dietary energy intake on carcass composition and palatability of different weight carcasses from ewe and ram lambs. J. Anim. Sci., 47, 1207–1218.
Crouse, J.D., Busboom, J.R., Field, R.A. and Ferrell, C.L. (1981). The effects of breed, diet, sex, location and slaughter weight on lamb growth, carcass composition and meat flavor. J. Anim. Sci., 53, 376–386.
Crouse, J.D., Ferrell, C.L., Field, R.A., Busboom, J.R. and Miller, G.J. (1982). The relationship of fatty acid composition and carcass characteristics to meat flavor in lamb. J. Food Qual., 5, 203–214.
Crouse, J.D., Ferrell, C.L. and Cross, H.L. (1983). The effects of dietary ingredient, sex and slaughter weight on cooked meat flavor profile of market lamb. J. Anim. Sci., 57, 1146–1153.
Czochanska, Z., Shorland, F.B., Barton, R.A. and Rae, A.L. (1970). A note on the effect of the length of the resting period before slaughter on the intensity of flavour and odour of lamb. N.Z. J. Agric. Res., 13, 662–663.
Dimick, P.S., Patton, S., Kinsella, J.E. and Walker, N.J. (1966). The prevalence of aliphatic delta-lactones or their precursors in animal fats. Lipids, 1, 387–390.
Dransfield, E., Nute, G.R., MacDougall, D.B. and Rhodes, D.N. (1979). Effect of sire breed on eating quality of cross-bred lambs. J. Sci. Food Agric, 3, 805–808.
Dransfield, E., Nute, G.R., Hogg, B.W. and Walters, B.R. (1990). Carcass and eating quality of ram, castrated ram and ewe lambs. Anim. Prod., 50, 291–299.
Dwivedi, B.K. (1975). Meat flavor. CRC Crit. Rev. Food Technol, 5, 487–535.
Field, R.A., Williams, J.C., Ferrell, C.L., Crouse, J.D. and Kunsman, J.E. (1978). Dietary alteration of palatability and fatty acids in meat from light and heavy weight ram lambs. J. Anim. Sci., 47, 858–864.
Field, R.A., Williams, J.C. and Miller, G.J. (1983). The effects of diet on lamb flavor. Food Technol., 37(5), 258–263.
Field, R.A., Williams, J.C., Brewer, M.S., Cross, H.R. and Secrist, J.L. (1984). Influence of sex, NaCl, MSL, nitrite and storage on sensory properties of restructured lamb roasts. J. Food Qual., 7, 121–129.
Ford, A.L., Park, A.J. and McBride, R.L. (1975). Effect of a protected lipid supplement on flavor properties of sheep meats. J. Food Sci., 40, 236–239.
Fox, C.W., Eller, R., Sather, L. and McArthur, J.A.B. (1964). Effect of sire and breed on eating qualities from weanling lambs. J. Anim. Sci., 23, 596.
Fox, C.W., McArthur, J.A.B. and Sather, L. (1962). Effect of sire and breed on flavor scores from weanling lambs. J. Anim. Sci., 21, 665.
Garton, G.A., Hovell, F.D.D. and Duncan, W.R.H. (1972). Influence of dietary volatile fatty acids on the fatty-acid composition of lamb triglycerides, with special reference to the effect of propionate on the presence of branched-chain components. Br. J. Nutr., 28, 409– 416.
Gill, C.O. (1988). C02 packaging-the technical background. Proc. 25th Meat Ind. Res. Conf. (Hamilton, New Zealand), Meat Ind. Res. Inst. N.Z. Publ. No. 855, pp. 181–185.
Gordon, M. (1987). Novel antioxidants. Food Sci. Technol. Today, 1(3), 172–173.
Graafhuis, A.E., Muir, P.D., Devine, C.E. and Young, O.A. (1991). The effect of ultimate pH on the meat quality of seven month and fifteen month ram lambs with the same carcass weight. Meat Sci., in preparation.
Hansen, R.P. and Czochanska, Z. (1978). Fatty acid composition of the subcutaneous fats of lambs fed 71% barley grain, and a comparison with those of lambs grazed on pasture, or fed higher levels of barley grain. N.Z. J. Sci., 21, 85–90.
Hoffmann, G. and Meijboom, P.W. (1968). Isolation of two isometric 2,6-nonadienals, and two isomeric 4-heptenals from beef and mutton tallow. J. Am. Oil Chemists’Soc., 45, 468– 474.
Horning, M.G., Martin, D.B., Karmen, A. and Vagelos, P.R. (1961). Fatty acid synthesis in adipose tissue. II. Enzymatic synthesis of branched chain and odd-numbered fatty acids. J. Biol. Chem., 236, 669–672.
Hornstein, I. and Crowe, P.F. (1960). Flavor studies on beef and pork. J. Agric. Food Chem., 8, 494–498.
Hornstein, I. and Crowe, P.F. (1963). Meat flavor: Lamb. J. Agric. Food Chem., 11, 147–149.
Hudson, J.E. and Loxley, R.A. (1983). The effect of pentose sugars on the aroma and flavour of mutton. Food Technol. Australia, 35(4), 174–175.
Jacobs, J.A., Field, R.A., Botkin, M.P. and Riley, M.L. (1973). Effect of dietary stress on lamb carcass composition and quality. J. Anim. Sci., 36, 507–510.
Jacobson, M. and Koehler, H.H. (1963). Components of the flavor of lamb. Agric. Food Chem., 11, 336–339.
Johns, A.M., Birkinshaw, L.H. and Ledward, D.A. (1989). Catalysts of lipid oxidation in meat products. Meat Sci., 25, 209–220.
Johnson, A.R. and Vickery, J.R. (1964). Factors influencing the production of hydrogen sulphide from meat during heating. J. Sci. Food Agric, 15, 695–701.
Kemp, J.D., Shelley, J.M., Ely, D.G. and Moody, W.G. (1972). Effects of castration and slaughter weight on fatness, cooking losses and palatability of lamb. J. Food Sci., 34, 560– 562.
Kemp, J.D., Mahyuddin, M., Ely, D.G., Fox, J.D. and Moody, W.G. (1981). Effect of feeding systems, slaughter weight and sex on organoleptic properties and fatty acid composition of lamb. J. Anim. Sci., 51, 321–330.
Kirton, A.H., Clarke, J.N. and Hickey, S.M. (1982). A comparison of the composition and carcass quality of Kelly and Russian castrate, ram, wether and ewe lambs. Proc. N.Z. Soc. Anim. Prod., 42, 117–118.
Kirton, A.H., Sinclair, D.P., Chrystall, B.B., Devine, C.E. and Woods, E.G. (1981). Effect of plane of nutrition on carcass composition and the palatability of pasture-fed lamb. J. Anim. Sci., 52, 285–291.
Kirton, A.H., Winger, R.J., Dobbie, J.L. and Duganzich, D.M. (1983). Palatability of meat from electrically stimulated carcasses of yearling and older entire-male and female sheep. J. Food Technol., 18, 639–649.
Klettner, P., Pöllein, H. and Ott, G. (1989). Processing of old sheep in the meat industry. Fleischwirtsch., 69, 1810–1812.
Kunsman, J.E. and Riley, M.L. (1975). A comparison of hydrogen sulfide evolution from cooked lamb and other meats. J. Food Sci., 40, 506–508.
Lingnert, H. and Eriksson, C.E. (1981). Antioxidant effect of Maillard reaction products. Prog. Food Nutr. Sci., 5, 453–466.
Locker, R.H. (1980). In Developments in Meat Science-1, ed. R. Lawrie. Applied Sci., London, pp. 181–193.
Locker, R.H. and Moore, V.J. (1977). Lamb, ham and bacon. Food Technol. N.Z., 12(4), 27–31.
Mabrouk, A.F. (1976). In Phenolic, Sulphur and Nitrogen Compounds in Food Flavors, eds. G. Charalambous and I. Katz. ACS Symp. Series 26, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, pp. 146–183.
MacLeod, G. (1986). In Developments in Food Flavours, eds. G.G. Birch and M.G. Lindley. Elsevier Appl. Sci., London, pp. 191–223.
Meilgaard, M., Civille, G.V. and Carr, B.T. (1987). Sensory evaluation techniques. CRC Press, Boca Raton.
Mendenhall, V.T. and Ercanbrack, S.K. (1979). Effect of carcass weight, sex and breed on consumer acceptance of lamb. J. Food Sci., 44, 1063–1066.
Miller, G.J., Field, R.A. and Agboola, H.A. (1986). Lipids in subcutaneous tissues and long-issimus muscles of feedlot and grass-fed ewes. J. Food Qual., 9, 39–47.
Misock, J.P., Campion, D.R., Field, R.A. and Riley, M.L. (1976). Palatability of heavy ram lambs. J. Anim. Sci., 42, 1440–1444.
Moody, W.G. (1983). Beef flavor-a review. Food Technol., 37(5), 227–232.
Munday, R. and Winterbourn, C.C. (1989). Reduced glutathione in combination with superoxide dismutase as an important biological defence mechanism. Biochem. Pharmacol., 38, 4349–4352.
Mussinan, C.J., Wilson, R.A., Katz, I., Hruza, A. and Vock, M.H. (1976). in Phenolic, Sulfur and Nitrogen Compounds in Food Flavors, eds. G. Charalambous and I. Katz. ACS Symp. Series 26. Am. Chem. Soc., Washington, DC, pp. 133–145.
Nicol, A.M. and Jagusch, K.T. (1971). The effect of different types of pasture on the organoleptic qualities of lambs. J. Sci. Food Agric., 22, 464–466.
Nixon, L.N. (1981). A comparison of the effects of grass and legume pasture on sheep meat flavour. N.Z. J. Agric. Res., 24, 277–279.
Nixon, L.N., Wong, E., Johnson, C.B. and Birch, E.J. (1979). Nonacidic constituents of volatiles from cooked mutton. J. Agric. Food Chem., 27, 355–359.
Ockerman, H.W., Emsen, H., Parker, C.F. and Pierson, C.J. (1982). Influence of type (wooled or hair) and breed on growth and carcass characteristics and sensory properties of lamb. J. Food Sci., 47, 1365–1371.
Park, R.J. and Minson, D.J. (1972). Flavour differences in meat from lambs grazed on tropical legumes. J. Agric. Sci., 79, 473–478.
Park, R.J., Corbett, J.L. and Furnival, E.P. (1972). Flavour differences in meat from lambs grazed on lucerne (Medicago sativa) or phalaris (Phalaris tuberosa) pastures. J. Agric. Sci., 78, 47–52.
Park, R.J., Ford, A., Minson, D.J. and Bacter, R.I. (1975). Lucerne-derived flavour in sheep meat as affected by season and duration of grazing. J. Agric. Sci., 84, 209–213.
Park, R.J., Ford, A.L. and Ratcliff, D. (1978a). Use of protected lipid supplement to modify the flavor of mutton. J. Food Sci., 43, 874–881.
Park, R.J., Ford, A.L. and Ratcliff, D. (1978b). A study of “sweet” flavor in lamb produced by feeding protected sunflower seed. J. Food Sci., 43, 1363–1367.
Paul, A.A. and Southgate, D.A.T. (1978). McCance and Widdowson’s The Composition of Foods. Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, London.
Paul, P.C., Torten, J. and Spurlock, G.M. (1964). Eating quality of lamb. Food Technol., 18(11), 121–124.
Pearson, A.M., Wenham, L.M., Carse, W.A., McLeod, K., Davey, C.L. and Kirton, A.H. (1973). Observations on the contribution of fat and lean to the aroma of cooked beef and lamb. J. Anim. Sci., 36, 511–515.
Pepper, F.H. and Pearson, A.M. (1969). Changes in hydrogen sulfide and sulfhydryl content of heated beef adipose tissue. J. Food Sci., 34, 10–12.
Peterson, G.V. (1983). Preslaughter and slaughter factors affecting meat quality in lambs. Ph.D. Thesis, Massey University, Palmerston North, N.Z.
Purchas, R.W., O’Brien, L.E. and Pendleton, CM. (1979). Some effects of nutrition and castration on meat production from male Suffolk cross (Border Leicester-Romney cross) lambs. N.Z. J. Agric. Res., 22, 375–383.
Purchas, R.W., Johnson, C.B., Birch, E.J., Winger, R.J., Hagyard, C.J. and Keogh, R.G. (1986). Flavour studies with beef and lamb. Massey University, Palmerston North, N.Z.
Raymer, J.H. and Pellizzari, E.D. (1987). Toxic organic compound recoveries from 2,6-diphenyl-p-phenylene oxide porous polymer using supercritical carbon dioxide and thermal desorption methods. Anal. Chem., 59, 1043–1048.
Rhee, K.S. (1988). Enzymic and nonenzymic catalysis of lipid oxidation in muscle foods. Food Technol., 42(6), 127–132.
Rubin, L.J. and Shahidi, F. (1988). Lipid oxidation and the flavour of meat products. In Proc. 34th Int. Congr. Meat Sci. Technol, ICMST, Brisbane, pp. 295–301.
Sato, K., Hegarty, G.R. and Herring, H.K. (1973). The inhibition of warmed-over flavor in cooked meats. J. Food Sci., 38, 398–403.
Schutte, L. (1974). Precursors of sulfur-containing flavor compounds. CRC Crit. Rev. Food Technol, 4, 457–505.
Shorland, F.B., Czochanska, Z., Moy, M., Barton, R.A. and Rae, A.L. (1970). Influence of pasture species on the flavour, odour and keeping quality of lamb and mutton. J. Sci. Food Agric., 21, 1–4.
Shorthose, W.R. (1989). Dark-cutting in Cattle and Sheep. Proceedings of an Australian Workshop. Australian Meat & Live-stock Research and Development Corporation, Report No. 89/2.
Smith, M. and Young, O.A. (1991). Spicing up sheepmeat. Food Technol. N.Z., 26(3), 25–29.
Spillane, C. and L’Estrange, J.L. (1977). The performance and carcass fat characteristics of lambs fattened on concentrate diets. Ir. J. Agric. Res., 16, 205–219.
Spurway, R.A. (1972). Flavour differences in sheep meat. Food Technol. Australia, 24(12), 645.
St. Angelo, A.J., Vercellotti, J.R., Legendre, M.G., Vinnett, C.H., Kuan, J.W., James, C. and Dupy, H.P. (1987). Chemical and instrumental analyses of warmed-over flavor of beef. J. Food Sci., 52, 1163–1168.
Suzuki, J. and Bailey, M.E. (1985). Direct sampling capillary GLC analysis of flavor volatiles from ovine fat. J. Agric. Food Chem., 33, 343–347.
Vimini, R.J., Field, R.A., Crouse, J.D. and Miller, G.J. (1984). Factors affecting melting point of subcutaneous fat from heavy ram and wether lambs. Int. Goat Sheep Res., 2, 105– 113.
Wasserman, A.E. and Talley, F. (1968). Organoleptic identification of roasted beef, veal, lamb and pork as affected by fat. J. Food Sci., 33, 219–223.
Watanabe, K. and Sato, Y. (1968). Aliphatic γ-and 8-lactones in meat fats. Agric. Biol. Chem., 32, 1318–1324.
Weller, M., Galgan, M.W. and Jacobson, M. (1962). Flavor and tenderness of lamb as influenced by age. J. Anim. Sci., 21, 927–929.
Wenham, L.M. (1974). Studies in ewe mutton quality-palatability of beef and mutton patties. N.Z. J. Agric. Res., 17, 203–205.
Werkhoff, P., Bruning, J., Emberger, R., Guntert, M., Kopsel, M., Kuhn, W. and Surburg, H. (1990). Isolation and characterization of volatile sulfur-containing meat flavor compounds in model systems. J. Agric. Food Chem., 38, 777–791.
Wong, E. (1975). Mutton flavour. Food Technol. N.Z., 10(1), 13–15.
Wong, E. and Mabrouk, A.F. (1979). Isolation of precursors of mutton odor. J. Agric. Food Chem., 27, 1415–1416.
Wong, E., Nixon, L.N. and Johnson, C.B. (1975a). Volatile medium chain fatty acids and mutton flavor. J. Agric. Food Chem., 23, 495–498.
Wong, E., Johnson, C.B. and Nixon, L.N. (1975b). The contribution of 4-methyloctanoic (hircinoic) acid to mutton and goat meat flavour. N.Z. J. Agric. Res., 18, 261–266.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Young, O.A., Reid, D.H., Smith, M.E., Braggins, T.J. (1994). Sheepmeat odour and flavour. In: Shahidi, F. (eds) Flavor of Meat and Meat Products. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2177-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2177-8_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5911-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-2177-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive