Impact of Aging Time on Beef Quality: Evaluation of Dry and Wet Aging Techniques Through Tenderness and Aroma Profile Analysis

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the impact of aging time on quality factors that influence beef acceptability in meat subjected to both wet and dry aging. To achieve this, changes in water loss, pH levels, tenderness, and aroma volatile profiles were monitored at intervals of 2-3 days over a 31-day period for each aging method. The longissimus dorsi from yearling beef was used as the sample, and volatile analysis was conducted using solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME-GC-MS). A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to identify the aging time that maximized tenderness and desirable aromas while minimizing undesirable ones for both techniques. Although pinpointing a definitive result was challenging due to the numerous variables influencing the process, dry-aged beef showed slightly higher pH and greater moisture loss than wet-aged beef. Tenderness peaked earlier (day 17) in dry-aged samples, while wet-aged beef improved more gradually until day 25. PCA proved to be an effective tool for approximating optimal conditions, revealing that, under consistent sample and method parameters, dry-aged samples reached optimal conditions earlier (days 10-13) than wet-aged counterparts (days 24-27).