QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE TEXTURAL ASSESSMENT OF COOKED GROUND-BEEF PATTIES

Cohesiveness of extruded, sliced hamburger patties from two manufactur ers was studied in relation to cooking performance. Tensile determinat ions of ultimate strength and toughness were related to cohesiveness a s measured with an Instron Universal Testing Machine. Light and enviro nmental scanning electron microscopy was used to relate physical and m acroscopic observations. Very cohesive samples had values of ultimate strength >1.45N and toughness >3.70 x 10(-4)J, and noncohesive samples had values of ultimate strength <0.90N and toughness <1.50 x 10(-4)J. Tensile results allowed discrimination between levels of cohesiveness among ground beef patties and could serve as a monitoring device to e nsure consistency and indicate failure of the product at the serving o utlet.