{"title":"Influence of drying time and sugar content on the sensory profile of beef jerky.","authors":"Vitor Andre Silva Vidal, Rikke Harveland Ølberg, Lene Waldenstrøm, Ida-Johanne Jensen, Jørgen Lerfall","doi":"10.1038/s41538-025-00433-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Beef jerky is widely consumed for its convenience, sensory appeal, and shelf stability. Reducing sugar content is a public health priority but presents technological and sensory challenges. Drying time also plays a crucial role due to its economic and sustainability impacts. This study evaluated the effects of different drying times (2, 3, 4, and 6 h) and sugar levels (0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%) on beef jerky's sensory and physicochemical properties. Drying time significantly influenced product quality, affecting sensory attributes. Results showed that reducing added sugar did not compromise the sensory properties preferred by consumers. Moreover, optimizing both drying time and sugar content can improve production efficiency while maintaining consumer acceptance. These findings highlight the potential for healthier beef jerky with enhanced sustainability.</p>","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":"9 1","pages":"64"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12053560/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"NPJ Science of Food","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-025-00433-8","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Beef jerky is widely consumed for its convenience, sensory appeal, and shelf stability. Reducing sugar content is a public health priority but presents technological and sensory challenges. Drying time also plays a crucial role due to its economic and sustainability impacts. This study evaluated the effects of different drying times (2, 3, 4, and 6 h) and sugar levels (0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%) on beef jerky's sensory and physicochemical properties. Drying time significantly influenced product quality, affecting sensory attributes. Results showed that reducing added sugar did not compromise the sensory properties preferred by consumers. Moreover, optimizing both drying time and sugar content can improve production efficiency while maintaining consumer acceptance. These findings highlight the potential for healthier beef jerky with enhanced sustainability.
期刊介绍:
npj Science of Food is an online-only and open access journal publishes high-quality, high-impact papers related to food safety, security, integrated production, processing and packaging, the changes and interactions of food components, and the influence on health and wellness properties of food. The journal will support fundamental studies that advance the science of food beyond the classic focus on processing, thereby addressing basic inquiries around food from the public and industry. It will also support research that might result in innovation of technologies and products that are public-friendly while promoting the United Nations sustainable development goals.