2.4 Meat quality analysis
2.4.1 Color measurements
Muscle samples for both aging times (day 1 and day 7) were analyzed for color characteristics and reported as lightness (L*), redness or red–green scale (a*) and yellowness or yellow–blue scale (b*). The color measurement was carried out using the ColorFlex® system (Hunterlab, Reston, VA, USA) with illuminant D65 as the light source and 10° standard observer. The instrument was calibrated against black and white reference tiles before each set of runs. The sample was allowed to thaw at 4 °C overnight prior to slicing at a thickness of 10–15 mm, and bloomed for 30 min at 1–4 °C. The bloomed side of meat sample was pillowed onto the color meter’s cup and measured. A total of three readings of the L, a*, and b* values were recorded from different sites of each sample and averaged (Hunt, 1980).