Nin.hr (M.D.T.); [email protected] (A.K.); [email protected] (I.L.) Ministry of Agriculture, Ul. Grada Vukovara 78, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; [email protected] Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetosimunska Cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; [email protected] Correspondence: [email protected]: Krvavica, M.; gum, J.; Topalovi, M.D.; Kegalj, A.; Ljubi i, I.; c cc Konja i, M. Alterations in Proximate cc Chemical and Mineral Compositions of Distinctive Sex Categories of Mutton throughout the Dry-Curing Approach. Animals 2021, 11, 3019. https:// doi.org/10.3390/ani11113019 Academic Editors: Luigi Faucitano and Federica Bellagamba Received: 29 July 2021 Accepted: 18 October 2021 Published: 20 OctoberSimple Summary: The older raw mutton categories are considered to be of poor high-Inositol nicotinate MedChemExpress quality and are poorly accepted by buyers, mainly because of the toughness and intense odor. Consequently, they’re most frequently employed in the production of many meat products. In Dalmatia, mutton is mostly processed into a regular dry-cured solution known as kastradina. Its high quality depends upon the age and sex, and also the kastradina with the castrated and fattened rams (wethers) will be the most effective accepted by shoppers. This study examined the influence of sex and castration on the proximate chemical and mineral compositions of raw mutton and kastradina as indicators of their high quality. Meat is mainly a source of protein along with a considerable supply of minerals (phosphorus, iron, zinc, potassium) in the human diet plan. Therefore, it is actually crucial to identify which components influence their composition probably the most. The results showed that sex and castration considerably affected the salt content along with the proximate chemical and mineral compositions of raw mutton and kastradina that could affect the top quality (nutritive and sensory) of kastradina. The findings suggested that the raw mutton of wethers and ewes could Polmacoxib Immunology/Inflammation possibly be a better-quality raw material for production of kastradina than could the ram mutton. Abstract: The aim of this analysis was to identify the effect of sex, castration, and processing around the chemical properties of mutton inside the production of kastradina–a classic Dalmatian drycured meat solution. Consequently, the carcasses of 20 ewes (E), 20 rams (R), and 20 wethers (W) in the Dalmatian pramenka breed have been processed by dry-curing. Around the 1st, 35th, and 60th days of processing, the samples in the scapulae were taken, then the proximate chemical, NaCl, and mineral analyses were performed, and important variations among the majority of the parameters have been found. As opposed to W, the R samples contained considerably far more proteins (p 0.01), NaCl (p 0.05), and potassium (p 0.05) and much less fat (p 0.05). In addition, in comparison with the W and R categories, the E category of kastradina contained significantly much more calcium (p 0.05). The greater contents of intramuscular fat, potassium, and calcium and lower content of NaCl could positively impact the sensory (marbling, flavor, juiciness, and tenderness) and chemical (fatty acid profile) properties of kastradina. These findings recommend that the W and E raw mutton may be a better-quality raw material for production of kastradina than could the R, but additional analysis is needed for a more extensive image of its good quality. Keyword phrases: chemical composition; dalmatian dry-cured mutton; effect of sex and castration; kastradina; mineral composition; muttonPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published ma.
