458 Chapter 26
total variation and showed that preferred
hams were fi rmer and meaty.Dry - Cured Ham
In Spain, dry cured hams are a popular com-
modity because of their fl avor and long shelf
life. Work by Flores et al. (1997) developed
a lexicon of descriptors that could be used to
study fl avor characteristics. The approach
centred on using an intensity reference scale
and training as outlined by Meilgaard et al.
(1991). This method gives examples of dif-
ferent products with differing characteristics,
that is, sweet with an intensity rating of 1.0
using a 1% sucrose solution as against sweet
with an intensity rating of 16.5 given by
frosted raspberry pop - tarts from the Kellogg
Company. Higher intensity ratings of 18.0
are also given by frosted blueberry pop - tarts
from the Kellogg Company. A major disad-
vantage with this approach is that the same
products are often not available in Europe, or
even if given the same name, may not relate
to the same intensity.
After this initial screening, assessors were
given examples of Italian dry - cured hams,
country - style ham, and Spanish “ Serrano ”
ham. The fi nal lexicon contained three cate-
gories: aromatics (10 descriptors), compris-
ing fat complex, boar taint, barnyard, haylike/
musty, brown spice, pickling spice, smoky,
pork, serum, pungent; taste (3 descriptors),
comprising sour, salty, bitter; feeling factors
(3 descriptors), comprising astringent, metal-
lic, and mouthfi lling. For each of these terms,
a description was given (e.g., boar taint: the
aromatic associated with boar meat; hor-
mone - like (skatole); mouthfi lling: mouthfeel
associated with monosodium glutamate).
This lexicon was then used to compare the
long and short processing times of “ Serrano ”
dry - cured ham. The results of a univariate
analysis indicated that there were differences
between drying times of 7 months and 12
months, with signifi cant increases in boaring polyphosphate concentration. The amount
of added water ranged from 0% to 24%. The
panel were able to distinguish between 0%
added water and 24% added water but not
between 10% and 20% added water in
texture. Juiciness did not differ between 0%
and 10% added water, but was signifi cantly
different at 20% and 24% added water when
compared to 0% and 10%.
This approach was aimed specifi cally
at researchers working on aspects of
production.
Nute et al. (1987) used a trained panel to
produce a map of UK hams purchased at
retail that included sensory characteristics,
composition, and instrumental texture analy-
sis. In all, 52 hams were examined and their
descriptions at retail, which ranged from
different packaging types, canned, loose
wrapped, vacuum packed, and different
product descriptors (mild cure, gammon
cure, honey roast, sugar roast, smoked, and
country of origin, British, Danish).
The sensory profi le generated covered
three areas: appearance, texture, and fl avor.
The resultant map based on a combination of
Generalized Procrustes Analysis and princi-
pal component analysis showed that the fi rst
axis accounted for 33% of the total variation
and presented a contrast between hams that
were gelatinous, of a plastic texture, and
plastic appearance against hams that were
fl aky, cohesive, and fi rm, with a stronger ham
fl avor. This same axis, when instrumental
and chemical measurements were projected
into the sensory space, showed that canned
hams tended to have more expelled fl uid and
higher water content. The second axis, which
accounted for 17% of the total variation, was
related to the texture descriptors, which
include: rubbery, fi rm, plastic, and cohesive.
The third principal axis, accounting for a
further 10% of total variation, was related to
the dominant color of the ham slices, fatness,
and saltiness.
When hedonic ratings were included, the
fi rst principal axis accounted for 91% of the