Improving the textural and microstructural quality of cow meat by black chokeberry, grape, and hawthorn vinegar-based marination

This study was designed to investigate the effects of vinegar-based marinades on pH, technological properties, color, microstructure, texture, and sensory characteristics of 9-year-old Holstein meat which had tough texture. To marinate the Longissimus lumborum steaks, three different marinades were prepared depending on the different additions of vinegar: black chokeberry (BV), grape (GV), and hawthorn vinegars (HV). The group with water (without vinegar) was prepared as a control sample (C). The steak samples were dipped into the vinegar-based marinades and stored at 4°C for 24 h. Vinegar-based marinades decreased the pH and cooking loss of the samples (p <.05). The highest a* values were determined in the BV group, while the samples marinated with vinegar-based marinades had lower L* values than the control group (p <.05). The samples marinated with grape vinegar marinade had the lowest hardness, WBSF, and WBSE values (p <.05). SEM images and sensory analysis results also supported these texture results. The results suggest that grape vinegar-based marinade may be a promising natural tenderizer to improve textural characteristics of tough meats.