# Effects of Process Parameters on the Quality of Suantang Beef
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Effect of Beef-ST Ratio on the Quality of ST Beef  
The effect of the beef-ST ratio on the yield of ST beef is shown in Figure 1D. The yield reached the highest value at 30% beef-ST ratio. As the beef-ST ratio increases, the surface area of the beef in contact with the broth increases, which leads to a rise in the absorption ratio. When the beef-ST ratio increases to a certain level, too much of the cooking liquid isabsorbed into the meat, which causes some damage to the muscle fiber structure, reduces water retention, and decreases the yield [43]. The effects of beef-ST ratio on the \(L^{\star}\), \(b^{\star}\), and \(a^{\star}\) values of ST beef are shown in Figure 2D. As the beef-ST ratio increased, the \(L^{\star}\) value gradually increased, the \(b^{\star}\) value initially increased and then decreased (\(p<0.05\)), and the \(a^{\star}\) value gradually reduced. The increase in \(L^{\star}\) values was due to the increased free water content as more cooking liquor entered the meat, which caused changes in light scattering on the beef surface. [PERSON], et al. [43] showed that the \(L^{\star}\) value of seasoned duck breast increased and then decreased as the meat-liquid ratio increased. The effect of beef-ST ratio on the sensory score of ST beef is shown in Figure 3D. The sensory score initially increased and then decreased with an increasing beef-ST ratio (\(p<0.05\)). The 30% beef-ST ratio had a relatively high sensory score. This result indicates that an appropriate ratio of material to liquid can help improve sensory quality. The effect of beef-ST ratio on the textural properties of ST beef is shown in Table 2. A significant decrease (\(p<0.05\)) in hardness and gelatinousness was observed as the beef-ST ratio increased. This outcome may be due to the increase in moisture, which affects the texture of the beef. The variation tendency in beef cohesiveness, elasticity, and chewiness was unclear. ### Effect of Beef-ST Ratio on the Quality of ST Beef  
As shown in Table 3, the main effects of the factors on sensory score were in the order: C > A > B > D (meat thickness > salt addition > cooking time > beef-ST ratio). The optimal combination was A2B2C2D3. The main effects of the factors on yield were in the order: A > B > D > C (salt addition > cooking time > beef-ST ratio > grain thickness). The optimal combination was A2B3C2D3. According to the ANOVA of the orthogonal results in Table 4, the amount of salt addition, cooking time, and meat thickness significantly affected the sensory score of ST beef soup (\(p<0.05\)). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Test Number** & **A** & **B** & **C** & **D** & **Sensory Evaluation** & **Turnout Rate** \\ \hline
1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 1 & 8.21 & 53.61 \\
2 & 1 & 2 & 2 & 2 & 8.54 & 58.74 \\
3 & 1 & 3 & 3 & 3 & 7.71 & 68.49 \\
4 & 2 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 8.43 & 69.7 \\
5 & 2 & 2 & 3 & 1 & 7.64 & 58.61 \\
6 & 2 & 3 & 1 & 2 & 8.41 & 64.83 \\
7 & 3 & 1 & 3 & 2 & 7.44 & 54.64 \\
8 & 3 & 2 & 1 & 3 & 8.54 & 53.69 \\
9 & 3 & 3 & 2 & 1 & 8.23 & 58.98 \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{Sensory evaluation} \\ k1 & 8.15 & 8.03 & 8.39 & 8.03 & & \\ k2 & 8.16 & 8.24 & 8.40 & 8.13 & Optimal solution \\ k3 & 8.07 & 8.12 & 7.60 & 8.23 & A2B2C2D3 \\ R & 0.09 & 0.21 & 0.80 & 0.20 & \\ \hline \multicolumn{6}{c}{Turnout rate} \\ k1 & 60.28 & 59.32 & 57.38 & 57.07 & \\ k2 & 64.38 & 57.01 & 62.47 & 59.40 & Optimal solution \\ k3 & 55.77 & 64.10 & 60.58 & 63.96 & A2B3C2D3 \\ R & 8.61 & 7.09 & 5.10 & 6.89 & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} Note: A: salt addition, B: cooking time, C: meat thickness, D: beef–ST ratio; K1, k2, and k3 are the average index values of each factor at levels 1, 2, and 3, respectively; R is the difference between the maximum and minimum average index values of each factor at each level.  
\end{table} 
Table 3: Orthogonal experiment results of formula and technology of ST beef. In contrast, salt addition, cooking time, meat thickness, and beef-ST ratio significantly affected the yield (\(p<0.05\)).