A comparative study of intramuscular fat content and sensory attributes of meat of broiler and Kuttanad ducks

Abstract

Meat samples from six regions viz., neck, wing, breast, back, thigh and drumstick were collected from a total of 72 ducks comprising of six males and females of each of Vigova broilers, Kuttanad ducklings and spent Kuttanad ducks. The samples were assessed by a trained panel of seven assessors for flavour, juiciness, ease of fragmentation, mouth coating, overall tenderness and overall acceptability on eight-point Hedonic scale. Intramuscular fat of meat from the six regions was also estimated using Soxhlet apparatus. The highest mean intramuscular fat was obtained in the neck muscle by the spent Kuttanad ducks females (p<0.01) and the lowest mean intramuscular fat content was obtained for Kuttanad ducklings females in the breast region (p<0.01). The mean flavour scores did not differ significantly between groups except in the thigh region. There was no significant difference observed in the juiciness and mouth coating score between groups and genders. The highest mean ease of fragmentation score was attained in the back region for broiler duck males. The overall tenderness score showed significant difference (p<0.05) in breast muscle and back muscles. The overall tenderness score was significantly higher in broiler ducks in the back region. Overall acceptability score was significantly highest in back muscle followed by breast muscle in broiler ducks compared to spent Kuttanad ducks and was comparable to Kuttanad ducklings.