Abstract

Buffalo meat from young male, spent male and spent female groups was evaluated to develop ready to eat keema. The keema prepared by standardized formulations and processing were stored at ambient (37±1°C) and refrigeration (4±1°C) temperature and the quality was compared on day 3. The physicochemical characteristics showed significantly higher energy and fat content in keema prepared from spent buffalo groups compared to young males. The pH and moisture were significantly higher in young male buffalo meat keema than spent group. Buffalo meat keema from young male groups were significantly higher in tenderness and connective tissue residue scores than the spent groups. Ambient temperature stored buffalo meat keema resulted in significant deterioration of quality parameters compared to the refrigeration storage. The buffalo meat keema could be stored up to 2 days at ambient temperature with an overall acceptability in the range of extremely acceptable to moderately acceptable.

Key words: Buffalo meat, keema, quality, storage, temperature.