Correction of defective textures in packaged dry-cured pork ham by applying conventional and ultrasonically-assisted mild thermal treatments

Abstract

Pastiness is a textural defect characterized by an excessive softness and loss of elasticity which lacks corrective actions at industrial level. The objective of this study was to evaluate the textural and microstructural changes of dry-cured pork ham, with different pastiness levels, subjected to conventional and ultrasonically-assisted corrective mild thermal treatments. Pastiness was assessed by an expert sensory panel and hams were classified into three categories: high (HP), medium (MP) and no (NP) pastiness. Ham samples (n=108) were heated (40 and 50 ºC) with power ultrasound (PuS) and without (CV) PuS application. After heating, all of the textural parameters assessed were improved. Hardness increased by 102% and adhesiveness decreased by 55% and the ham became less viscoelastic. The largest modifications were found in the samples heated at 50 ºC and no differences were found between CV and PuS treatments. The microstructure of pasty samples revealed that the treatment produced a shrinkage of the myofibrils, which could explain the increase in hardness and the improvement in texture of defective ham.

Physicochemical characterisation of restructured Fenalår and safety implications of salt and nitrite reduction

“…Morales, Serra, Guerrero & Gou (2007) also found that BF muscles from pork dry-cured ham with levels of NaCl lower than 2% were more prone to show soft textures. Optimization of the Fenalår elaboration process and corrective actions using emerging technologies (Coll-Brasas, Arnau et al, 2019;Contreras et al, 2020) could help to yield SR and NNSR Fenalårs with similar textural characteristics to SS Fenalårs. Temperature of the air of the drying room where the hams were stored.…”

A comprehensive review on molecular mechanism of defective dry‐cured ham with excessive pastiness, adhesiveness, and bitterness by proteomics insights

“…Hence, studying the status of muscle fibers mainly including sarcomeres, Z line, A band, and I band have made it possible to know the mechanism that improves taste and texture parameters of the products through the implementation of new technologies (Ozuna et al., 2013). The fracture of muscle tissues caused by cavitation could be the reason that many studies have tried to elucidate the ability of high intense ultrasound to induce disruption of cell structure and to improve the textural and taste parameters in meat products including meat batter and dry‐cured ham in recent years (Alarcon‐Rojo et al., 2019; Contreras, Benedito, Quiles, Lorenzo, Fulladosa, & Garcia‐Perez, 2020; Li et al., 2015). It has been reported that ultrasound treatments show a great effect on protein stability and proteolytic enzymes activities related to disruption of myofibril structure leading to a higher degradation of muscle proteins (Stadnik et al., 2008; Lopez‐Pedrouso, Perez‐Santaescolastica, Franco, Carballo et al., 2018).…”

“…Contreras, Benedito, Quiles, Lorenzo, Fulladosa, & Garcia‐Perez et al. (2020) demonstrated that hardness increased by 102% and adhesiveness decreased by 55%, and the ham became less viscoelastic by the ultrasound‐assisted thermal treatment (600 W, 20 kHz, 50°C), compared with the samples of the control group. The decrease of adhesiveness of sliced dry‐cured ham could be attributed to the fact that thermal and ultrasonic cavitation break the connection of intramolecular hydrogen and cause the relaxation of the molecular structure and reduction of molecular node (Ahmadi et al., 2012).…”

“…Depending on the ultrasonic intensity, the muscle fibers are more or less weakened on account of proteins degradation, causing the quality improvement of meat and meat products (Alarcon‐Rojo et al., 2015). Furthermore, ultrasound has been used to intensify the heating process to correct texture defects (pastiness and adhesiveness) in dry‐cured ham (Contreras, Benedito, Quiles, Lorenzo, Fulladosa, & Garcia‐Perez, 2020; Lopez‐Pedrouso, Perez‐Santaescolastica, Franco, Carballo et al., 2018). In this regard, Perez‐Santaescolastica et al.…”

Enhancing processed quality of roasted eel with ultrasound treatment: Effect on texture, taste, and flavor

“…The former is often used in food analysis technology to provide information on food’s physical and chemical properties, such as hardness, sugar content, acidity, etc (Demirdöven & Baysal, 2008). The latter can be used as an assisted processing method to improve the physical or chemical properties of food (McClements, 1995), especially in meat processing, such as beef (Kang et al, 2017; Zou et al, 2018), pork (Contreras et al, 2020), and chicken (Li et al, 2020). As a kind of mechanical wave, the propagation of an ultrasonic wave in a liquid medium will produce tiny bubbles.…”