Pengaruh Lama Marinasi Cuka Pepaya (Carica papaya L) terhadap Kualitas Fisik Daging Kuda (Equus caballus)

Abstract

Marination is a process used to soak meat, which functions to improve flavor, increase water holding capacity, increase juiciness, reduce cooking losses, increase tenderness dan extend shelf life. Horse meat has a high protein content of around 19.72% with a low fat content of 4.84%. To improve its quality, natural preservatives are needed, including papaya vinegar. Papaya is a natural ingredient that can be used as a natural preservative because it has active protease enzyme content such as papain enzyme. Papaya is a natural ingredient that can be used as a natural preservative because it contains active protease enzymes, namely papain enzymes. Papain enzymes function as catalysts in protein hydrolysis reactions that can improve meat quality. This research was conducted in January - April 2025 at the Animal Production Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara, and the Chemistry Department Testing Laboratory, Lhokseumawe State Polytechnic. The design used in this study was a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 treatments dan 5 replications. The treatment consisted of giving papaya vinegar as much as 25% in each treatment (P0 = control; P1 = 15 minutes; P2 = 30 minutes; P3 = 45 minutes). The parameters observed were pH value, water holding capacity, cooking loss, and meat tenderness. The results showed that the duration of papaya vinegar marination on the physical quality of horse meat had a significant effect (P <0.05) on the pH value and cooking loss of horse meat. However, the duration of papaya vinegar marination did not have a significant effect (P>0.05) on water holding capacity and tenderness.