HIGH-PRESSURE TREATMENT FOR COMMINUTED BE EF

The present paper examines how the gelling ability of comminuted beef and beef sausage mixture is affected by hydrostatic high pressure up t o 8 000 bar at moderate temperatures of 20 to 60 degrees C. High press ure treatment was at 4, 6 and 8 kbar and 20, 40 and 60 degrees C for a period of 450 sec. This period was also varied between 0 and 1 800 se c. In further experiments beef with different levels of sodium chlorid e and sodium diphosphate and frankfurter-type sausage mixtures of vari ous compositions were treated at 6 kbar and 20 degrees C. The samples were examined for firmness after the pressure experiments. It was foun d that, given the same period of application, all the samples became f irmer as the pressure and the temperature rose. Where the period was v aried it was found that there was a considerable increase in firmness purely as a result of the build-up of and decline in pressure. Maximum firmness values were noted at 450 s. There was no further increase in firmness when the period was increased. Beef with 1% sodium chloride was particularly firm after high pressure treatment. Optically this sa mple resembled restructured meat. As the sodium chloride concentration rose the firmness declined. Beef with 2% sodium chloride and a varyin g sodium diphosphate concentration became considerably less firm at as low an addition as 0.3%. The amount of fat added has less influence o n the gel firmness of a sausage mixture than has the extraneous moistu re content.