Donkey meat from Fanshi

Donkey meat from Fanshi

　　From a nutritional and food science perspective, donkey meat has better texture and higher nutritional value than beef or pork. The amino acid composition in donkey meat is very comprehensive, with abundant levels of all eight essential amino acids and ten non-essential amino acids. Tryptophan is an important substance used to assess whether the protein in meat is complete, and it is also a key indicator in evaluating meat quality. The tryptophan content in donkey meat is 300–314 mg per 100 g, far exceeding that of pork (270 mg/100 g) and beef (219 mg/100 g), which is why donkey meat is considered superior in quality to both pork and beef.

　　The levels of lysine and methionine in donkey meat are 1481–1825 mg/100 g and 270–490 mg/100 g respectively, which are similar to those found in pork and beef. The freshness of meat largely depends on the amount of umami-contributing amino acids (threonine and glutamic acid). In donkey meat, the glutamic acid content is higher than that of threonine. The total amount of these two umami amino acids is also higher in donkey meat than in beef. In terms of the proportion of umami amino acids to the total amino acid content, donkey meat stands at 27.33%, beef at around 25.34%, and pork between 24% and 26%. This is one of the key reasons why donkey meat is widely praised for its delicious and savory taste.

　　The content of unsaturated fatty acids in donkey meat, especially the biologically valuable linoleic acid and linolenic acid, is significantly higher than in pork or beef. Among the higher fatty acids in donkey meat, apart from a small portion being saturated fats, the majority are unsaturated, accounting for about 77.2% of the total higher fatty acids. In contrast, the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in beef and pork is much lower—53.5% in beef and 62.6% in pork. The essential fatty acids in donkey meat consist only of linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and no arachidonic acid. In donkey meat’s higher fatty acids, the combined content of linoleic acid and linolenic acid is 26.9%, rising to as high as 30.6% in lean donkey meat. In comparison, lean pork contains 13.8%, and beef just 5.7%, showing a significant difference among them.