Implicações tecnológicas da maturação úmida (wet aged) e da maturação a seco (dry aged) sobre a qualidade da carne: uma revisão

Abstract

There is a global tendency to search for superior meat quality. There are many factors associated with the quality of the meat, such as the sensorial aspects stand out: tenderness, juiciness, flavor, aroma and texture. Those characteristics can be improved through the meat aging technique, which can be carried out in two ways: wet-aged and dry-aged. In wet aged, the meat is refrigerated inside vacuum packaging for a certain time with extreme temperature control. And in dry aged, the meat is refrigerated without any type of packaging with temperature, air flow and relative humidity control. In both aging processes, the meat softens due to changes in the structure caused by endogenous enzymes. Furthermore, there is the formation of several compounds linked unique flavors and aromas during aging process. The two most used aging methods cause different changes in the meat, because the parameters involved are not the same. Therefore, the objective of this review was to conceptualize the differences involved in wet aged and dry aged, aiming to compare both processes and their technological implications on meat quality. It was possible to conclude that both the wet and dry aging processes contribute to improving the tenderness of the meat in a comparable way. However, dry aged has the advantage of promoting the development of more desirable flavor characteristics compared to wet aged. Although there is much evidence in the literature of greater acceptance of the flavor found in dry aged meat, the mechanisms responsible for this improvement still require further clarification and more investigation. Furthermore, there is a need for more in-depth studies focused on the changes and factors involved in mass transfer, especially in relation to dry aged. Since the loss due to trimmings in this maturation process is a very important factor for its manufacture, which greatly increases the final value of dry-matured meats. And about the microbiological quality, it was possible to find a consensus in the literature that dry aged presents less proliferation of microorganisms and more control of this factor during processing.