Consumer and Trained Sensory Comparisons of Cooked Beef Top Rounds Treated with Sodium Lactate

Addition of 3% sodium lactate to beef top rounds increased cooking yields. Raw and cooked lactate-treated roasts were lower in moisture, but fat content was not affected. Aerobic plate counts at 42 and 84 days storage were lower in treated roasts than in controls, with hetero-and homofermentative Lactobacillus spp. constituting a dominant (>50%) part of the microflora at 84 days storage. Trained panel evaluations revealed that positive fresh flavor notes were enhanced, while warmed-over flavor notes and microbial spoilage were minimized by sodium lactate. Flavor profiles did not change during storage. Consumer panelists described treated roasts as flavorful with stronger beefy, meaty flavor, than control samples which were bland with weak beefy flavor.