Fifty consumers were recruited among the University's students, staff and faculty; enjoying lamb meat was the only selection criterion. Among the selected participants, 57% were female, and 78% were aged between 20 and 40 years. The recruited consumers were given a free and informed consent form to be read and signed prior to performing the tests. Two different affective tests were performed to evaluate the sensory stability of the samples during refrigerated storage: 1) an acceptance test using a 9-point hedonic scale for the consumption of cooked samples and 2) a preference-ranking test to assess the appearance of the samples while still in the packaging. Both of the tests were conducted in individual booths that were illuminated by white light, according to the methodology described by Meilgaard, Civille, and Carr (1991). For the acceptance tests, the samples were cooked in a similar manner to that described for the evaluation of WLC and were stored in an oven at 60 °C for a maximum of 30 min. A randomized complete block design was used, and the samples were served to the participants individually inside disposable plastic cups that were coded by three-digit numbers. The panelists assessed aroma, texture, juiciness, flavor and overall quality.
The visual preference-ranking test consisted of the simultaneous observation of samples from the three treatments, in their packaging, presented in a random order and with different codes. The panelists were asked to rank the samples in increasing order of preference with respect to their overall appearance.