HIGH-TEMPERATURE PROCESSING EFFECTS ON THE PROPERTIES OF FOWL MEAT GELS

The effects of three moisture levels (0, 10, and 20% added water) and three processing temperatures (115.6, 121.1, and 126.7 C) on texture a nd collagen solubilization of fowl meat gels were examined. Meat gels were formulated from spent fowl breast meat that were cooked in water (71.1 C internal temperature) prior to heat processing. The water-cook ed gels were heat processed at the three temperatures to an Fg value o f 6.0 (Z value=10 C). The addition of 20% water resulted in a reductio n of the soluble collagen compared to the 10% water-added treatment. T he lowest processing temperature increased the soluble collagen compar ed to the highest processing temperature. Shear stress and hardness de creased as the amount of added water was increased; and the lowest pro cessing temperature resulted in the lowest hardness values. The increa se in soluble collagen parallels the decrease in hardness in the sampl es processed at the lowest temperature. Because each sample was proces sed to equivalent F values, the lowest processing temperature had the longest exposure time (26 min at 115.6 C, 12 min at 121.1 C, and 6 min at 126.7 C). The longer exposure to moist heat allowed for greater co llagen solubilization and lower hardness values. The 0% added-water tr eatment had the highest yield from before and after heat processing. H owever the 10% water-added samples had the greatest overall water rete ntion when each treatment was placed on an equal level of initial wate r content. Furthermore, the highest processing temperature (shortest p rocessing time) resulted in the greatest yield and moisture retention compared to the other processing temperatures.