Raw meat has a very weak odor, but it is a matrix rich in non-volatile precursors of the volatile compounds that develop meat flavor. Heat treatment starts a series of reactions that result in the characteristic flavor of meat. These reactions include Maillard reactions, lipid oxidation, interactions between Maillard reaction products and lipid oxidation products, and thiamine degradation.
Hundreds of volatile compounds have been determined in cooked meat. Among the typically meaty notes are 2-methyl-3-furanthiol and bis(2-methyl-3-furyl) disulfide. Ribose, which forms when ATP degrades in meat, reacts with cysteine to make many key sulfur compounds, among them 2-methyl-3-furanthiol and bis(2-methyl-3-furyl) disulfide.
The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that creates melanoidins, the compounds that give browned food its distinctive flavor. Seared steaks undergo this reaction. It typically proceeds rapidly from around 140 to 165 °C. The browning reactions that occur when meat is roasted or seared occur mostly by Maillard browning. The reaction is named after the French chemist Louis Camille Maillard, who first described it in 1912.
The Strecker degradation converts an α-amino acid into an aldehyde containing the side chain. In the Strecker reaction, methionine is degraded to methional, which has a typical odor of cooked potatoes. Interactions of sulfur-free amino acids with sugars lead to nitrogen compounds such as pyrazines. Pyrazine and a variety of alkylpyrazines are flavor and aroma compounds found in baked and roasted goods.
Fats and fatty acids play a significant role in giving particular meat species a specific flavor. The most intensive compound formed by the oxidation of arachidic acid is trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-2-decenal. Oxidized lipids react with Maillard reaction products to form compounds such as pyrazines, thiazoles and thiols. trans-4,5-Epoxy-(E)-2-decenal was permitted as a food flavouring in the EU until it was prohibited on 11 July 2017.
The composition of volatile compounds in the finished product is influenced by breed, sex, diet and age of the animal, conditions and process of slaughter, duration and conditions of meat storage, and type of muscle. Non-ripened beef has a weak, bland aroma, whereas the ripening process increases and intensifies its flavor.
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Related: Aldambre · Ambrarome · Ambrein · Ambreine · Ambrettolide · Ambronova · Ammonia · Animal Notes
