What is the tenderness of meat? What are the influencing factors?

What is the tenderness of meat? What are the influencing factors?

eat tenderness refers to the physical property of muscle measured by the force required during chewing, with lower values indicating softer texture, typically quantified using the Warner-Bratzler Shear Force. Its core influencing factors can be categorized as follows:

I. Key Factors Affecting Tenderness

Muscle Fiber Characteristics

Fiber Diameter: Rabbit muscle fibers measure only 15-20 μm (half that of pork), naturally tender.

Fiber Alignment: Beef tenderloin (fillet) has fine, straight fibers without fascia, yielding a shear force of 300-400 N/cm², whereas aged meat fibers are coarse and tough.

Connective Tissue & Fat

Collagen Content: Pork shoulder (plum blossom meat) exceeds lean tenderness due to marbled fat distribution.

Fat Hydrolysis: Sufficient fat hydrolysis in cuts like rib-eye enhances succulence.

Water-Holding Capacity

Tender meat retains high moisture; excessive drying causes fiber shrinkage and toughness.

II. Practical Techniques to Improve Tenderness

Cutting Direction: Slicing against the grain shortens fibers, reducing chewing difficulty.

Cooking Methods: High-heat quick cooking (e.g., stir-frying tenderloin) prevents excessive fiber contraction.

Pre-Treatment: Marinating or coating (with starch/tenderizers) disrupts fiber structure and locks in moisture.

ST-16A meat tenderness tester is a special instrument designed and manufactured in strict accordance with the standard NY/T 1180-2006 meat tenderness determination shear force method. The oil tenderness tester simulates the chewing effect of human teeth on muscle and various foods, measures the shear value of muscle and food samples, displays the measurement results numerically, and expresses the tenderness of food.

Precision Meat Tenderness Tester NY/ T1180-2006 Meat Tenderness Shear Tester

The muscle tenderness meter can quickly measure the muscle tenderness, and can also measure the tenderness, hardness and other physical parameters of fruits, vegetables, flour products and other foods, providing direct data for meat quality analysis and livestock breeding. It is an ideal testing equipment for food manufacturers, quality inspection, commodity inspection, universities, scientific research and other departments

Principle: tenderness refers to the shearing force required for meat cutting. The shearing force refers to the force used by the cutting tool of the testing instrument to cut off the meat sample to be tested. Record the force of the cutting tool when cutting the meat sample through the measuring instrument and the sensor, and take the measured peak value of the shear force (the maximum value of the force) as the meat sample tenderness value.