Zeb Pietrasik

Effects of mechanical treatments and moisture enhancement on the processing characteristics and tenderness of beef semimembranosus roasts.

The combined effect of blade tenderization (TD,NTD), pre-massaging (0 and 30min), moisture enhancement and post-injection tumbling (2h) on the chemical, binding and textural characteristics of pre-cooked roasts made from beef top round was investigated. Properties of the beef roasts were determined by measuring processing (i.e., cooking yield, expressible moisture (EM)) and textural characteristics (Warner-Bratzler shear, Kramer shear (KS), texture profile analysis). Brine injection helped to improve the cook yield and had the largest effect on tenderness of semimembranosus muscles. Post-injection tumbling did not significantly improve yield and textural properties of roasts; however, combined with the tenderization, it had beneficial effects on water holding and moisture retention. Pre-tumbling and blade tenderization treatments prior to injection generally were found to be beneficial for textural characteristics; pre-tumbling also tended to improve cook yield, but did not influence EM. However, no synergistic effect between these two variables was observed. An interaction between injection/tumbling and pre-tumbling was observed for KS. There was a significant improvement of KS values of roasts due to pre-tumbling observed for either non-injected roasts or those injected but without tumbling. However, no additional reduction in shear force was observed with pre-tumbling when roasts were tumbled after injection. This suggests that pre-tumbling may not be necessary to ensure more tender roasts when post-injection tumbling is applied, but would be beneficial for non-injected roasts or when tumbling is not applied after injection.

Physicochemical, thermal and functional characterisation of protein isolates from Kabuli and Desi chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.): a comparative study with soy (Glycine max) and pea (Pisum sativum L.)

BACKGROUND Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) seeds are a good source of protein that has potential applications in new product formulation and fortification. The main objectives of this study were to analyse the physicochemical, thermal and functional properties of chickpea protein isolates (CPIs) and compare them with those of soy (SPI) and pea (PPI) protein isolates. RESULTS Extracted CPIs had mean protein contents of 728-853 g kg(-1) (dry weight basis). Analysis of their deconvoluted Fourier transform infrared spectra gave secondary structure estimates of 25.6-32.7% α-helices, 32.5-40.4% β-sheets, 13.8-18.9% turns and 16.3-19.2% disordered structures. CPIs from CDC Xena, among Kabuli varieties, and Myles, among Desi varieties, as well as SPI had the highest water-holding and oil absorption capacities. The emulsifying properties of Kabuli CPIs were superior to those of PPI and Desi CPIs and as good as those of SPI. The heat-induced gelation properties of CPIs showed a minimum protein concentration required to form a gel structure ranging from 100 to 140 g L(-1) . Denaturation temperatures and enthalpies of CPIs ranged from 89.0 to 92.0 °C and from 2.4 to 4.0 J g(-1) respectively. CONCLUSION The results suggest that most physicochemical, thermal and functional properties of CPIs compare favourably with those of SPI and are better than those of PPI. Hence CPI may be suitable as a high-quality substitute for SPI in food applications.

Influence of blade tenderization, moisture enhancement and pancreatin enzyme treatment on the processing characteristics and tenderness of beef semitendinosus muscle.

The combined effect of blade tenderization (BT), moisture enhancement and enzymatic tenderization on drip loss, cook loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and sensory characteristics of beef semitendinosus (ST) steaks from cattle under 30 months of age was investigated. Injection with phosphate/chloride solution improved tenderness and juiciness of ST muscles (P<0.01). No additional improvement in tenderness was observed with incorporation of a pancreatin enzyme preparation into the moisture enhancement solution (P>0.1). Injection of pancreatin alone tended to improve overall tenderness (P=0.09) and did not adversely affect other palatability attributes. Blade tenderization of ST muscles improved tenderness, as indicated by lower WBSF and increased sensory tenderness scores than for control samples, without decreasing flavour and juiciness. The results suggest that moisture enhancement and blade tenderization can be effectively utilized to reduce the variability in and improve both tenderness and palatability of ST muscles. Pancreatin was not particularly effective at the 0.02% level used.

Effects of moisture enhancement, enzyme treatment, and blade tenderization on the processing characteristics and tenderness of beef semimembranosus steaks.

The individual and combined effects of moisture enhancement with a salt/phosphate solution (ME), blade tenderization (BT), and enzyme injection with proteinases derived from Aspergillus oryzae or Bacillus subtilis on cooking properties, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and sensory characteristics of beef semimembranosus were investigated. ME significantly (P < 0.01) reduced WBSF and increased (P < 0.05) sensory scores for juiciness and tenderness. BT increased (P < 0.05) initial and overall tenderness scores and made connective tissue less perceptible. BT combined with ME resulted in the highest initial and overall tenderness scores, however, combining ME with either proteinase was as effective for reducing WBSF and increasing tenderness, particularly at 20 (vs. 10) ppm enzyme inclusion. Tenderness of enzyme-injected steaks was increased without compromising other palatability attributes. All treatments increased the frequency of steaks rated slightly tender or higher, with the ME+BT combination, or ME with inclusion of 20 ppm of either proteinase, being most effective.

The effect of salt replacers and flavor enhancer on the processing characteristics and consumer acceptance of turkey sausages

BACKGROUND Producing high-quality processed meats that contain reduced amounts of sodium chloride is a major challenge facing industry owing to the importance of sodium chloride toward the functional, microbial stability and sensory properties of these products. In order to create reduced sodium alternatives, a number of commercial salt replacers and flavor enhancers have entered the market; however, their ability to be applied in processed meats requires investigation. In this study, two salt replacers (Oceans Flavor - OF45, OF60) and one flavor enhancer (Fonterra™ Savoury Powder - SP) were evaluated for their ability to effectively reduce sodium while maintaining the functional and sensory properties of turkey sausages. Functionality via instrumental measures (yield, purge loss, pH, expressible moisture, proximate composition, sodium content, color, texture), safety (microbiological assessment) and consumer acceptability were obtained on all samples. RESULTS All non-control treatments resulted in products with sodium chloride contents below Canadas Health Check™ Program target for processed meats. There was no detrimental effect on water binding and texture in treatments when NaCl was substituted with OF60 sea salt replacers. Sodium reduction had no negative effect on the shelf life of the turkey sausages with up to 60 days of refrigerated storage. Consumer acceptability for all attributes did not differ significantly, except for aftertaste, which scored lowest for OF45 compared with the control (regular NaCl content). CONCLUSION This work demonstrated that salt replacers could potentially substitute for NaCl in smoked turkey sausages; however, further flavor optimization may be required to suppress undesirable levels of bitterness elicited by some of these ingredients.

The impact of sodium reduction strategies on the sensory and processing characteristics of meat products

Sensory evaluation • Consumer panel evaluated overall acceptability and acceptability of appearance, colour, flavour, texture and aftertaste (9-point hedonic scales) . • Trained panel assessed intensities of saltiness, bitterness, smoky flavour, overall flavour, smoky aroma, overall aroma, juiciness, hardness, and cohesiveness of mass (15 cm unstructured visual analog scale with 1 cm indented anchors).