Browsing by Subject "fermented sausage"

A structural problem found in pork – so-called destructured meat - complicates the production of high quality meat products. Destructured meat resembles PSE meat, although it is relatively dry compared to the watery PSE meat. Muscle fiber bundles can be peeled off in strips from destructured meat. Structural problems can already be seen in raw meat as soft texture and light colour. In addition to light colour, the pH-value of destructured meat is lower and drip loss is higher than in normal meat. In a cooked meat product this problem is seen as dry spots which are light in colour and as broken slices. The objective of this study was to improve the quality of cooked meat products. It was examined whether the quality of cooked ham improved when destructured meat was removed from the raw material before preparation of the product. In addition, it was also examined whether the mincing rate of the meat with two different grinder plates (larger, 0-plate or smaller, 20-plate) influenced the appearance of the final product. The crucial method used for whole meat products was sensory analysis. The appearance of the final ham product made of normal meat was better than that made of destructured meat. The result was the same regardless of whether a 0-plate or a 20-plate was used. The structure of the product made of pork minced with 20-plate was, however, considered superior compared to the product made of pork minced with 0- plate. The use of destructured meat as raw material in fermented sausages was also investigated – whether destructured meat could be used without weakening the quality of the final product. The ripening of fermented sausages was followed by determining the aw-value, firmness and pH-value. The study showed that fermented sausage is an excellent product to be made from structurally flawed meat. It can be concluded that the visibility of structural problems in a final product can be decreased by selecting raw material combined with a grinder plate of small size.