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Original article . January-April 2018; 8(1):102-111. Received: 26/07/2017 Accepted: 17/09/2017.
http://dx.doi.org/10.21929/abavet2018.81.10

Evaluación sensorial de embutido tipo chorizo a base de carne de conejo
Sensorial assessment of “chorizo” as a type of sausage based on rabbit meat
Cruz-Bacab Luis* lecb82@gmail.com, Baeza-Mendoza Lourdes lulubaez75@hotmail.com,
Pérez-Robles Leonor leoperezrobles@hotmail.com, Martínez-Molina Itzel
itzelmtnez@gmail.com
División Académica de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco. México.
*Author responsible and correspondence: Cruz-Bacab Luis. División Académica de Ciencias
Agropecuarias, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Carretera Villahermosa – Teapa, Km 25, R/a
La Huasteca 2a Sección, Villahermosa, Tabasco, México C.P. 86040

RESUMEN
La carne de conejo es una opción viable para cubrir las demandas cualitativas y nutricionales de
los consumidores actuales, debido a su fácil digestión, alto contenido proteico y de ácidos grasos
insaturados, baja concentración de grasa. A pesar de sus características nutricionales, esta
carne, no posee aceptación generalizada en México, por lo cual, es necesario desarrollar
productos que favorezcan su aceptación. En el presente estudio, se realizaron dos experimentos
mediante pruebas sensoriales para evaluar la aceptación de un embutido tipo chorizo elaborado
a base de carne de conejo. El experimento uno consistió en una prueba sensorial del embutido
con 24 horas de reposo posteriores a su elaboración, a través de una escala hedónica con valores
del 1 al 10 donde 1 correspondió a la puntuación más baja y 10 a la más alta. El experimento dos
fue desarrollado mediante una prueba sensorial para un embutido madurado a 48, 120, 216 y
312, con la escala hedónica establecida para el experimento uno. Los aspectos evaluados del
producto fueron: color, olor, sabor, textura y global, los resultados obtenidos fueron anali; zados
mediante estadística descriptiva y análisis de varianza. En conclusión, el embutido fue aceptado
por los participantes en ambos experimentos. En el experimento dos, el mayor nivel de aceptación
correspondió a 216 horas de maduración (P<0.05).
Palabras Clave: Evaluación sensorial, maduración, Oryctolagus cuniculus
ABSTRACT
Rabbit meat is a viable option to meet the qualitative and nutritional demands of the current
consumers, due to its easy digestion, high protein content and unsaturated fatty acids, low-fat
concentration. Despite its nutritional characteristics, this meat is not widely accepted in Mexico,
so it is necessary to develop products that favor its acceptance. In the present study, two
experiments were carried out using sensory tests to evaluate the acceptance of a sausage type
made from rabbit meat. Experiment one consisted of a sensorial test of the sausage with 24 hours
of rest after its elaboration, through a hedonic scale with values from 1 to 10 where 1 corresponded
to the lowest score and 10 to the highest. Experiment two was developed by a sensorial test for a
matured sausage at 48, 120, 216 and 312 hours, with the hedonic scale established for experiment
one. The evaluated aspects of the product were: color, smell, flavor, texture and overall, the results
were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. In conclusion, the
sausage was accepted by the participants in both experiments. In experiment two, the highest
level of acceptance corresponded to 216 hours of maturation (P <0.05).
Keywords: Maturation, Oryctolagus cuniculus, sensory evaluation.
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INTRODUCTION
Currently, the aim is to develop a more dietetic and healthy meat production, to reduce
the content of saturated fatty acids and to increase unsaturated fatty acids in meat (Dalle
Zotte, 2002). The nutritional value of meat has increased its significance as a factor for
acceptance among consumers (Weiss et al., 2010), leading the meat industry to
experience an increase in the demand for reduced fat, cholesterol, sodium and nitrite
products or enriched with fatty acids, and consequently the volume and variety of products
with these characteristics, especially sausages have increased (Araya-Quesada et al.,
2014).
The chorizo is a cured raw sausage of Spanish origin, whose elaboration has spread all
over the world; its formulation and processing vary by country, and even in each region
(Jiménez-Colmenero et al., 2013); making viable the use of meat of species other than
the pig (Cobos et al., 2014). Rabbit meat is a lean meat of high protein value, in contrast
to red meat; rabbit meat is of low caloric value because of its low fat content, representing
a healthy alternative for human food (Dalle Zote and Szendro 2011, McNitt et al., 2011,
Nistor et al., 2013).
The elaboration and diversification of products based on rabbit meat can favor their
consumption and acceptance in the commercial market (Petracci and Cavani, 2013,
Dalle-Zotte, 2014, Lenkgey and Lobo, 2016). The development of innovative products
such as sausages is an option to improve the consumption of rabbit meat and preserve
human health (Castillo et al., 2013).
The objective of the present work was to evaluate the acceptance of a sausage type
"chorizo" based on rabbit meat through sensorial tests.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Experiment 1
For the production of the product was used meat of rabbits of New Zealand breed of 90
days old, the grinding of the meat was carried out with an electric mill of the mark Torrey,
model M-12-Fs 3/4HP. Subsequently, salt, nitrous salt, garlic, paprika, oregano, cumin all
in powder, vinegar and colored chili were added according to the formulation presented
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in Table 1. The ingredients were mixed manually to a homogeneous mass. The mixture
was allowed to stand for 24 hours at 4 °C; later it was embedded in pork gut, making ties
with thread to give the traditional form of the "chorizo". Once the sausage was made, it
was subjected to 140 °C for 15 minutes in edible oil for frying. Once the fried sausage was
obtained it was sectioned in samples of approximately 20-25 grams of weight, which were
offered to 150 participants to carry out the sensorial test with a single time of maturation
(Figure 1).
Experiment 2
For the elaboration of the product, the grinding of the meat was carried out with an electric
mill, and then the ingredients were integrated: salt, paprika, garlic, nitro salt, oregano,
cumin powder, vinegar, chili of color and chili guajillo scalded, according to the formulation
presented in Table 1. After mixing the meat with the ingredients, it was allowed to mature
for 24 hours, and then it was stuffed into pork gut previously prepared for the preparation
of sausages. After drawing, sensory tests were performed at different maturation times.
For the sensory tests, samples of "chorizo" were subjected to 140 ° C for 15 minutes in
edible oil for frying. Once the fried "chorizo" was obtained, it was sectioned in samples of
approximately 20 - 25 grams of weight, which were offered to 150 participants in each day
of evaluation. The established maturation times for the sensory tests were 48, 120, 216
and 312 hours; between each sensory test the "chorizo" was stored in refrigeration at 4 °
C (Figure 2).
Table 1. Formulated sausage type "chorizo" made from rabbit meat
Ingredients
Meat
Salt
Nitrous salt
Garlic powder
Paprika (Spanish pepper)
Oregano
Cumin powder
Vinegar
Color chili
Chili Guajillo

Experiment 1
%
89.84
0.89
0.45
0.27
1.79
0.17
0.17
4.49
1.88
-

104

Experiment 2
%
88.30
0.88
0.44
0.26
1.76
0.17
0.17
4.41
1.85
1.71

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Sensory test
The sensorial test was carried out in the meat workshop of the Academic Division of
Agricultural Sciences of the Autonomous Juárez University of Tabasco. To carry out the
test a similar preparation was carried out as would be done by a common consumer. In
both experiments the sensorial test was based on a structured hedonic scale of 10 points,
considering the rating of 10 (I like it very much), until 1 (I dislike much). The minimum
value to consider the product as accepted was 6 points overall. The evaluated attributes
were: color, smell, taste and texture; additionally each participant issued a "global" rating
on the product (Table 2).
Table 2. Chemical composition and energy value of rabbit meat (source Dalle Zotte and Szendro
2011)

Water g/100g
Protein g/100g
Lipids g/100g
Ash g/100g
Energy kJ/100g

Forelegs
Average D.E.
69.5
± 1.3
18.6
± 0.4
8.8
± 2.5
899
± 47

Loin
Average
74.6
22.4
1.8
1.2
603

D.E.
± 1.4
± 1.3
± 1.5
± 0.1
-

Thigh
Average
D.E.
73.8
± 0.8
21.7
± 0.7
3.4
± 1.1
1.2
± 0.05
658
± 17

Carcass
Average D.E.
69.7
± 2.6
20.3
± 1.6
8.4
± 2.3
1.8
± 1.3
789
± 11

For both tests a panel of 150 untrained judges was used for a single maturation time in
experiment 1; in Experiment 2, 150 untrained judges were used for each of the maturation
times.

Figure 1. Flow diagram Experiment 1.

Statistical analysis
The experimental design for both experiments was completely randomized and the
statistical analysis of the results obtained; descriptive statistics and analysis of variance
were performed using statistical software Statgraphics 5.1.

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RESULTS
In the present study it was observed that the sausage type "chorizo" based on rabbit meat
in experiment 1, was accepted globally with a high score compared to the established in
the study (Table 3); however, the "smell" aspect was rated below the acceptable score,
and the "color" aspect had a low score with respect to the "taste" and "texture" aspects.

Figure 2. Experiment 2 Flowchart
Table 3. Evaluation of sensorial attributes of sausage type "chorizo" based on rabbit meat
(experiment 1)
Attributes
Smell
Color
Taste
Texture
Global

Qualification
5.4
7.1
7.7c
7.6c
8.3

Standard deviation
2.17
2.32
1.86
1.72
1.50

In experiment 2, it was observed that a maturation of 216 hours significantly increased the
acceptance of the sausage in all aspects evaluated (Table 3). The maturation time may
play an important role in the acceptance of the sausage studied. As for the "smell" aspect,
the score obtained in experiment 2 was higher in all maturation times with respect to
experiment 1; with respect to "color" in experiment 2, the score was greater at 216 and
312 hours compared to experiment 1 (Table 4).
Table 4. Evaluation of sensorial attributes of sausage type "chorizo" based on rabbit meat with
different maturation times (experiment 2)
Maturation time (Hours)
Attributes
Smell
Color
Taste
Texture
Global

Standard
Deviation
6.9c
6.9c
7.7a
7.1b
1.93
6.8c
6.6c
7.4a
7.2b
1.94
7.4c
7.1c
8.2a
7.7b
1.92
7.2c
7.2c
8.1a
7.3b
1.83
7.8c
7.7c
8.6a
8.0b
1.48
Different literals in the rows indicate statistically significant difference P <0.05.
48

120

216

106

312

P Value
0.0012
0.0044
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

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DISCUSSION
Experiment 1
The current information about sausage based on rabbit meat and its acceptance are
scarce. In the present study the results of experiment 1 show that the general acceptance
of the product obtained an acceptable rating, (Wambui et al., 2016) mentions that in rabbit
sausages there is a significant influence between the sensorial properties of the product
and its chemical composition . In spite of having been accepted by the participants, the
"color" aspect of the rabbit chorizo, obtained the lowest rating according to the established
hedonic scale (Pérez and Andújar, 2000) and (Triki et al. 2013) mention that color is the
factor that most influences the appearance of a product and acts as a selection factor by
the consumer, however (Quintero - Salazar et al., 2011) states that the color assessment
in sausages is mostly subjective. In the case of "chorizos" made in Mexico, (Guerrero et
al., 2002) indicates that different varieties of Capsicum spp. in the formulations, being the
guajillo chili the one that is used more frequently.
Authors such as (Gómez et al., 2001), (Revilla and Vivar 2005) mention that variations in
the color of sausages such as "chorizo" can be directly related to the majority composition
of the sausage, amount of moisture or fat, as well such as the nature and quantity of
dehydrated chili (pepper), or, if appropriate, paprika, used in the formulation; this is in
agreement with what has been reported by Cobos et al. (2014) for rabbit "chorizo", in
which color differences are directly related to the amount of fat and moisture, as well as
the nature and quantity of chilli ) dehydrated or ingredients such as paprika.
Additionally (Pérez-Dubé and Andujar-Robles, 2000) indicate that the addition of nitrates
and nitrites is a factor that can exert an effect on the sausage color, since its addition
favors the formation of nitrosomioglobin, which according to (Montes et al., 2013) is a
pigment characteristic of curing. (González-Tenorio et al., 2013) reports that the
appearance of extraneous colors not associated with product characteristics would result
in their rejection; which coincides with the low score given to the chorizo "color" in
experiment 1. Due to the above, in the present study, the proportion of paprika and guajillo
chili used in the second experiment was modified to improve the "Color" ".

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Experiment 2
In experiment 2, the sensory test showed that the overall acceptance of the sausage was
higher with maturation during 216 hours, compared to the evaluated maturation times (48,
120 and 312) (P <0.05). Currently the research on the maturation of rabbit-based meat
products is scarce; (Koohmaraie et al., 2002) points out that changes in tenderness of
meat according to maturation time are related to the activity of the calpastatin/calpain
enzyme complex in muscle fibers; said complex regulates the degradation rate of the
protein, and consequently the quality of the meat.
Although the activity of the calpastatin/calpain enzyme complex was not evaluated in the
present study and the information on its activity in rabbit meat is scarce, the results
obtained by (Wang et al., 2016) indicate that the activity of calpastatin/calpain may be a
potential indicator of the quality of rabbit meat, and consequently determine the
characteristics of the products made with that meat. As for the evaluated aspects of the
sausage: texture, color, smell and taste, the highest scores were obtained in sensory
evaluation with a maturation of 216 hours (P <0.05); these results are novel, because
there are no bibliographical references for rabbit chorizo. (Acevedo et al., 2014)
establishes that the "texture" aspect is directly influenced by the raw material; as well as
the proportions of meat, fat, connective tissue in the product, the presence of starches or
non-meat proteins in Catalan sausage (butifarra), which is a sausage elaboration and
formulation similar to "chorizo".
In relation to the "color" aspect, in the experiment 2 the obtained score was higher with
216 h of maturation (P <0.05), with respect to the maturation times evaluated, as well as
the one obtained in experiment 1; this improvement in score can be related to the
modification made to the formulation for experiment 2, in which chili guajillo was added.
This agrees with (Cobos et al., 2014) who points out that, for rabbit "chorizo", the type and
amount of chili used in the formulation directly affects the color of the sausage.
CONCLUSION
The sausage type "chorizo" based on rabbit meat was accepted by the panel of
evaluators. Sensory perception of the product improved at 216 hours of maturation. It is
necessary to evaluate the acceptance of "chorizo" made with rabbit meat vs sausages
based on traditional meats, as well as the physico-chemical characterization of this
sausage.
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