SENSORY PROPERTIES AND CONSUMER ACCEPTABILITY OF TRADITIONAL CAPRETTO AND CHEVON

Consumer acceptability of chevon types, different from the traditional milk capretto and available outside the Easter period, was evaluated with relationship to their intrinsic sensory properties and consumer familiarity with goat meat. Five meat types, from 38 ram kids, were evaluated: milk capretto (MC, suckling, 1-1.5 months old, m.o., kids), heavy summer kid (HSK, 3-4 m.o. kids), summering chevon (SCh, mountain-pasture grazing, 4-5 m.o. kids), fall chevon (FCh, 5-5.5 m.o. kids) and late fall chevon (LFCh, 5.5-6 m.o. kids). HSK was the most tender meat, having less cooking losses than both MC and the most matured, redder chevon types (P≤0.05). The instrumental parameters corresponded with the appearance and texture attributes perceived by panellists. In going from the young to the old ram kids, the meat lost its delicate aroma of milk (MC) and sweet taste (HSK) and acquired an increasing intensity of goat odour and flavour, together with livery notes. 104 consumers evaluated the sensory differences between meats, and their liking scores were significantly affected by familiarity. The target consumers for obtaining maximal value from chevon are those having familiarity with goat meat, because their acceptability drops only for meat from the oldest ram kids, i.e. those close to sexual maturity.