Influence of Gradient Heating on Mutton Tenderness
Dadila·MAIMAITI1, LI Fang2, ZHANG Wen1, YANG Zhengyu1, KONG Lingming1,*
1.College of Food and Pharmacy, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Ürümqi 830052, China;
2.Xinjiang Institute of Light Industry Techonology, Ürümqi 830052, China
Abstract：This study aimed to check whether either oven or water bath heat treatment affects the tenderness of mutton semitendinosus or longissimus dorsi muscles as evaluated by color, water holding capacity, collagen solubility and shear force. Samples were heated directly or stepwise (the intermediate temperatures were maintained for 15 min) to 4 different internal temperatures. The results showed that during gradient heating process, the shear force of semitendinosus muscle significantly increased (P < 0.05), and the trend was more obvious in two-step heat treatment than in the three-step one. Compared with the routine control, gradient heat treatments had no evident effect on the color or water holding capacity of mutton, but showed a significant impact on collagen solubility (P < 0.05), thereby being a better heating method.
