Analysis of Change of Quality and Flavor in Cashmere Goat Meat during Postmortem Aging

To investigate the effect of aging time on meat quality and flavor of Longissimus dorsi muscles in the three-years-old Cashmere goat,gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS)was used to get the best aging time. The results showed that the pH value of Cashmere goat meat decreased first and then increased during aging(0~3 d),while the shear force value and cooking loss rate increased first and then decreased. The a^* and b^* values increased gradually,and the L^* values did not differ significantly. The results of GC-MS showed that the content of linoleic acid and arachidonic acid decreased gradually at 1~4 d,and the content of linolenic acid and conjugated linoleic acid were higher on the third day of aging. The main volatile flavor compounds identified in Cashmere goat meat were hexanal,furfural,pentanol,octanol and 1-octene-3-ol. In addition,the content of hexanal,furfural,pentanol,octanol and 1-octene-3-ol in Cashmere goat meat without aging was lower than that in the first day of aging,and its content gradually decreased at 1~4 d of aging. In summary,three days of aging was the best aging time for 3-year-old adult Cashmere goats meat,which was beneficial to the improvement of nutritional quality and flavor quality of mutton.