# Enhancing smoked meat (Se’i sapi) quality: The impact of adding essential oils of cinnamon and lime leaf during room temperature storage

## TL;DR

This study shows that adding cinnamon or lime leaf essential oils improves the taste and appearance of smoked meat during storage.

## Contribution

The novel use of 0.5% cinnamon or lime leaf essential oils to enhance the quality of Se’i during room temperature storage is demonstrated.

## Key findings

- Adding 0.5% essential oils improved sensory attributes and appearance of Se’i.
- EOs preserved meat quality better than the control group during storage.
- EOs enhanced taste and freshness of smoked meat under ambient conditions.

## Abstract

This study examines the effects of lime leaf and cinnamon essential oils (EOs) at different concentrations and storage durations on the quality of Se’i under ambient conditions.

We used a two-factor completely randomized design with three replications. The first factor involved EO concentrations of 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5%, while the second factor was storage duration at 0, 7, 14, and 21 days. Key parameters evaluated included pH, tenderness, thiobarbituric acid values, meat color, and sensory analysis.

The results indicated that adding EOs effectively preserved the smoked meat, with improved quality parameters compared to the control group.

Adding 0.5% lime leaf or cinnamon essential oil to Se'i made it taste and look much better, showing that it could be used as a natural way to keep smoked meats fresh.