Sensory evaluation of beef sirloin steak treated with fast pyrolysis liquid smoke

This study investigated the performance of liquid smoke food flavouring on sensory perception and consumer acceptability using sirloin steak. The liquid smoke was prepared by a fast pyrolysis process with kanuka wood. Various liquid smoke concentrations and marination times were applied for the smoking treatments. The descriptors of sensory attributes were summarised by focus group tests and illustrated by a word clouds method. The sensory evaluation by check-all-that-apply (CATA) tests and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the sample marinated with 3% (w/w) liquid smoke concentration for 30 min was highly preferred by the panel. Correlation analysis revealed that overall liking was positively correlated with odour and flavour liking, and they were the most critical factors of purchase intention. The low concentrations of liquid smoke solutions in this study did not affect the chemical properties of the treated steak samples in terms of moisture content, fat content and pH value.