THE HYDRODYNE - A NEW PROCESS TO IMPROVE BEEF TENDERNESS

The organoleptic trait most affecting consumer acceptance of beef is t enderness. The Hydrodyne process uses a small amount of explosive to g enerate a shock wave in water. The shock wave passes through (in fract ions of a millisecond) objects in the water that are an acoustic match with water. Four beef muscles (longissimus, semimembranosus, biceps f emoris, and semitendinosus) exposed to either 50, 75, or 100 g of expl osives were significantly tenderized compared with controls. As much a s a 72% reduction in shear force was observed for the longissimus musc le using 100 g of explosives. Reductions in shear force with magnitude s of 30 to 59% improvements were observed for the other three muscle t ypes. Results suggest that tenderizing beef with the Hydrodyne process presents a potentially novel opportunity in the way the meat industry can tenderize meat.