Quality of goat meat from purebred French Alpine kids and Boer crossbreeds
Abstract. Some quality traits of meat from purebred French Alpine kids and Boer crossbreeds aged 50 days were evaluated in the study. Samples of m. quadriceps femoris were taken to determine the chemical composition and physicochemical properties of meat as well as a water-to-protein ratio, energy value, levels of cholesterol and amino acids in protein, and fatty acid concentration in intramuscular fat. It was found that meat from crossbred kids, compared to meat from purebred kids, contained more intramuscular fat, cholesterol and vitamin A, had a higher calorific value, a brighter color, a lower water-holding capacity, a higher level of physiological maturity (measured as the value of a water-to-protein ratio), and got higher scores for tenderness and juiciness. The protein of meat from crossbred kids had a more desirable essential amino acid/non-essential amino acid (EAA/NEAA) ratio, while intramuscular fat contained less OFAs and had more desirable unsaturated fatty acid/ saturated fatty acid (UFA/SFA) and DFA/OFA (UFA+C18:0/SFA-C18:0) ratios. Due to a high protein content (19.44 and 19.74 %), low levels of fat (1.67 and 1.96 %) and cholesterol (48.76 and 56.63 mg/100g), a low energy value (96.36 and 101.47 kcal/100g), a high concentration of essential amino acids, a desirable fatty acid profile and high scores for sensory properties, meat from purebred French Alpine kids and (especially) Boer crossbreds may be recommended as a valuable component of a low-fat diet.
