Comparison of Acceptance and Preference Between Rabbit Burgers and Other Lean Meat Burgers by Young Consumers

Burgers are proposed as an ideal way to increase rabbit meat consumption among young people in a context where it is declining in several countries, mainly due to less familiarity with and appetite for rabbit meat and greater demand for easy-to-cook preparations. This study compared the acceptance and preference of commercial rabbit burgers with those of pork, chicken and turkey using an untrained panel of 45 young Spanish consumers (23.5 years; 55.6% male). A first trial evaluated on cooked burgers: a) acceptance of organoleptic characteristics and overall assessment, using a 9-point hedonic scale and b) order of preference of burgers (1st to 4th position). For this purpose, the panellists were presented with a dish with 2  5 cm blind-coded samples of each of the four burgers, randomly placed and to be tasted and evaluated from left to right. Overall acceptance and sensory attribute ratings differed between cooked burgers, except for texture (6.9 points for rabbit burger). Odour was rated better in the cooked rabbit (6.8 points) and turkey burgers, worst in the pork burger, and intermediate in the chicken burger. The colour, appearance, juiciness and overall acceptance of the cooked rabbit (6.5, 6.8, 6.9 and 7.1 points, respectively), pork and turkey burgers were rated better than the chicken burger. The flavour of the cooked rabbit (7.2 points) and turkey burgers was better accepted than that of pork and chicken burgers. The elasticity of the cooked rabbit (6.6 points) and pork burgers was rated better than that of the chicken, while that of the turkey burger was intermediate. The cooked turkey burger was preferred first, followed by the rabbit (second position; average order 2.27) and pork burgers, while the chicken burger was ranked last. A second trial evaluated on raw burgers: a) acceptance of colour and visual appearance and b) order of preference for burgers. For this purpose, the panellists were presented with a dish containing a 3  3 cm blind-coded raw sample of each of the four burgers, arranged in random order, to be visually evaluated in a clockwise direction. The colour of the raw turkey burger was rated best, the chicken burger was rated worst, and the rabbit and pork burgers were rated in between. Visual evaluation of appearance scored best for raw turkey, rabbit and pork burgers and worst for chicken burger. The visual appearance of the raw turkey burger was ranked first, followed by the rabbit and pork burgers, while the raw chicken burger was ranked last. In both trials, the gender of the consumer had no effect, and there was no interaction with the type of cooked burger. In conclusion, rabbit burgers were rated at the same level as pork and turkey burgers and better than chicken burgers, showing the potential to increase rabbit meat consumption among young people, which would benefit from promotion using this presentation format targeted at this specific audience.