Effect of wet-curing on physical properties and proteins of cured ham

Abstract

Consuming enough protein is a very important part of a balanced and healthy diet. Complete proteins are those in which all essential amino acids are present. In meat products, like hams, many different reactions occur during ageing and storage. For example, the production of free amino acids or the production of biogenic amines is formed by decarboxylation. In this study, the presence of these amino acids and biogenic amines, as well as the quality properties of cured hams during curing and ageing, were investigated. The meat samples were immersed into 100 g L−1 NaCl brine. The curing took 20 days, followed by smoking and ageing for 35 days (12 °C, 75% RH). The wet-cured ham samples were analysed for changes in NaCl concentration (at 3 parts: surface, core, bottom layer). Moreover, color, water activity, denaturation temperature and enthalpy (Differential Scanning Calorimetry), free amino acids (FAAs) and biogenic amines (BAs) were also evaluated.

Green Technology for Pork Loin Wet Curing—Unconventional Use of Cow and Soy Milk Treated with Non-Thermal Atmospheric Plasma

“…Contrary to our results, in the mentioned studies no differences were either found in the curing yield and cooking loss values of groups cured in brines containing alternative or conventional sources of nitrites [ 33 , 34 ]. In the case of wet curing, the driving force for the penetration of water and other substances into or from the interior of complex cellular structure is the difference in chemical potential between meat and its surrounding brine [ 25 ]. Brine ingredients migrate into the meat and the water from the inside of the meat moves into the brine.…”

“…Nevertheless, apart from dry, wet curing methods can also be distinguished. In those methods, the meat can be immersed in brine containing a given concentration of nitrite or injected with brine solution to support brine penetration [ 25 , 26 ].…”