Effect of pre-acidification induction on the physicochemical features, myofibrillar protein microstructure, and headspace volatiles of ready-to-cook goose meat

This study examined the impact of pre-acidification induction on the quality attributes and flavor retention of ready-to-cook (RTC) goose meat products. The results demonstrated that pre-acidification could influence the eating qualities of RTC goose meat by effectively regulating the physicochemical properties of goose myofibrillar proteins (MP) including solubility and water-holding capacity. Elevated carbonyl contents indicated an enhanced gel-forming capacity in RTC goose meat during storage, accompanied with reduced total sulfhydryl contents from enhanced protonation pretreatment and augmented lipid oxidation. Structural characterization of MP via sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and intrinsic fluorescence revealed the formation of a dense protein matrix under highly acidic conditions. Furthermore, the headspace concentration of aldehydes increased by 3.23 times upon enhancing the pre-acidification intensity, resulting in the production of esters and acidic flavor compounds with favorable aromas. Correlation analysis demonstrated the dependence of headspace concentrations of volatile constituents on the acidification-enhanced surface hydrophobicity of MP, attributed to the modified binding sites of proteins after pre-acidification. Current results have indicated both the positive and negative influence of pre-acidulation induction on the eating quality of goose meat products, suggesting the necessity of introducing extra processes to modulate the quality of prefabricated products.