Processed Meats and Protein Functionality

Solomon, Louis Wise

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Description

Title

Processed Meats and Protein Functionality

Author(s)

Solomon, Louis Wise

Issue Date

1980

Department of Study

Animal Sciences

Discipline

Animal Sciences

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Agriculture, Food Science and Technology

Language

eng

Abstract

• The research efforts communicated in this thesis revolve around new and improved ways to make sectioned and formed products. In conjunction with the manufacturing of these products, laboratory techniques were devised to delineate what types of chemical and/or physical changes were occurring to the muscle proteins due to processing conditions. This research approach relates processed meat manufacturing with the functional aspects of muscle proteins.
• Three experiments were performed. In the first experiment, three major ham muscles were isolated, trimmed and placed in a tumbler either 4 or 48 hr postmortem with 18% curing solution. Either vacuum or no vacuum was applied. Brine absorption within whole muscles was monitored by taking samples at 3 different depths during 13.47 hr of intermittent tumbling and after the curing period at 24 hr. Results indicate that vacuum and prerigor state independently increase the absorption of NaCl (P < 0.01). After the first hr of continuous tumbling, the outer sample depth attained 2.15% NaCl and then decreased, but the inner 2 depths NaCl concentration increased linearly with log time (P < 0.01). After 24 hr a homogeneous cure distribution was not found as the NaCl content in the depths were markedly different. Breaking strengths of ham slices were found to be greater when vacuum tumbling was used (P < 0.001). Thus vacuum is implicated for increased cure absorption and binding functionality.
• The second experiment was designed to determine the effects of vacuum mixing and rigor state on protein extraction and functionality of beef. Beef muscles excised either pre- or postrigor from cow chucks, were ground. The pre- or postrigor ground mince with Weber-Edsall solution was mixed using 3 different mixing times in a Keebler mixer. Either vacuum or no vacuum was utilized during mixing. Following mixing, a procedure to precipitate crude myosin (CM) from each treatment was performed. Results indicate that significantly greater amounts of crude myosin were obtained due to vacuum treatment (P < 0.05) and with increased time of mixing (P < 0.01). Comparing pre- and postrigor vacuum mixed meat, the former produced greater CM yields over time (P < 0.01). Protein functionality of CM fractions was evaluated using binding ability and least concentration gel tests. Mixing the mince caused a linear decrease in binding ability (P < 0.05) and an increase in the amount of protein to form a gel, irrespective of vacuum. Delineation of the functionality differences was attempted using (alpha)-helical content, thermal melting curves, and SDS-PAGE. Implication of effects of vacuum mixing duration in relation to processed meats is discussed.
• In the third experiment, pieces of cow chuck were subjected to either no papain, injected with a solution of papain or soaked in a solution of papain and then mixed for 30 seconds with either no binder, crude myosin (CM) in solution or freeze-dried crude myosin (FDCM). The material was stuffed into fibrous casings, frozen and stored for 2 months prior to evaluation by a trained taste panel. The results showed that papain decreased binding between meat pieces (P < .005). FDCM produced strong binding between meat pieces even when the pieces had been soaked or injected with papain. The taste panel preferred the papain tenderized product over no enzyme (P < .03), myosin bound steaks over the no myosin (P < .05) and FDCM bound steaks over CM bound steaks (P < .025). Thus, a palatable product was made utilizing papain injected chunks of beef bound together with FDCM.

Graduation Semester

1980

Type of Resource

text

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