MICROSTRUCTURE OF WHITE AND DARK TURKEY MEAT BATTERS AS AFFECTED BY PH

1. The effect of increasing the pH (4.5 to 7.5) of white and dark comm inuted turkey meat on the microstructure of cooked batters was studied . 2. Both scanning and transmission electron micrographs revealed that low pH caused the formation of a dense aggregated gel matrix while in creasing the pH resulted in more open structures. 3. At pH 7.5 both th e white and dark meat exhibited superior water holding capacity (both raw and cooked) compared to the low pH treatments; all adjusted to 14% protein. 4. The high pH also resulted in a higher gel strength, while the low pH (4.5) produced a soft and crumbly texture. As pH was raise d, gel strength gradually increased reaching a maximum at pH 7.5. Decr easing the pH resulted in lighter meat batters in both the white and d ark turkey meat. 5. Muscle fibre microstructure appeared to be better preserved at the low pH treatments.