Author
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LIU, MARTHA |
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Berry, Bradford |
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Submitted to: International Congress of Meat Science and Technology Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 6/10/1995 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Increased toughness and decreased juiciness are frequent consumer complaints with low-fat ground beef. As a result, an increase in the use of fat replacers and a re-evaluation of cooking methods has occurred. However, these approaches have not resolved all the consumers' concerns. Varying the size, weight and how patties are formed has not received much attention. Possibly, changes in these characteristics could enable production of low-fat ground beef without non-meat additives. Results of this study indicate that by increasing the thickness of the patty, a significant improvement in tenderness and an increase in initial juiciness was observed. These results were also obtained when the meat was gently twisted through small holes into a mold, in comparison to traditional patty formers where ground meat is forced into a mold. Some improvement in tenderness was observed when the weights of patties were increased. Thus, modification of patty thickness, weight and formation permits processors t improve tenderness and juiciness of low-fat ground beef. Technical Abstract: The effect of patty thickness, weight and type of fill system for forming patties was evaluated with low-fat (10 percent) ground beef. Two types of filling systems (Hollymatic Corp.) were evaluated; Multi-Flow, which forces a mass of meat into a mold, and Roto-Flow, in which meat is gently twisted through small holes into the mold. Two different hole diameters through which the meat was forced in the Roto-Flow system were evaluated (0.39 and 0.48 cm). Two weights of patties were evaluated for each treatment, 90 and 113 g, and within the Multi-Flow system, two patty thicknesses (0.95 and 1.27 cm) were also processed. Two commercially prepared (17 percent fat) ground beef patty products (90 g and 0.95 cm thick) were used as controls. Frozen patties were cooked on electric griddles until the internal temperature reached 71 deg C. Tenderness and juiciness properties were evaluated by a trained sensory panel. Peak load and peak load expressed as Newtons (adjusted for sample height) were obtained using an Instron Universal Testing Machine. An increase in patty thickness from 0.95 cm to 1.27 cm, resulted in a significant decrease in sensory firmness and peak load (Newtons) with an increase in initial juiciness. In general, Roto-Flow fill system treatments and 1.27 cm thick Multi-Flow treatments were found to provide the greatest improvement in sensory tenderness, have a faster rate of breakdown, produce many and small size chewed pieces, have greater initial juiciness and lower peak load (Newtons) than the 0.95 cm Multi-Flow treatments and the two control formulations. Some improvement in tenderness was seen by increasing the weight of patties from 90 to 113 g. Thus, improved tenderness and juiciness characteristics can be achieved by employing appropriate patty processing technology. |
