High‐intensity ultrasound applied on cured pork: Sensory and physicochemical characteristics

Abstract

This research aimed to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics and their relationship with sensory properties of cured porcine m. longissimus lumborum assisted by high‐intensity ultrasound (HIU, 37 kHz, 22 Wcm−2). An experiment was designed with three factors at two levels each: type of curing (immersion or ultrasound‐assisted ‐UA‐), immersion time (30 or 90 min), and steak thickness (1.27 or 2.54 cm). After treatment and 7 days of storage at 4°C, the percentage of salt, pH, CIE L* a* b* color, water holding capacity (WHC), and shear force were determined in the samples. A quantitative descriptive analysis was performed using eight trained panelists. The HIU significantly increased the percentage of NaCl (p < .0005) and decreased the color saturation of the meat (p < .05), but did not affect the luminosity, redness (a*), yellowness (b*), pH, WHC, or shear force (all p > .05). The thickness of the steak had significant effects on almost all of the evaluated variables. Samples with 1.27 cm thickness had lower shear force, higher WHC and salt percentage (p < .0001). In agreement with this, the sensory profiles showed that the 1.27 cm samples treated with HIU for 30 min were perceived as less tough (more tender) and juicier.

Advances in application of ultrasound in food processing: A review

“…Faster brining processes enable the control of bloating, structural damage, and enzymatic softening of brined foods. Contreras‐Lopez et al [41] observed that the application of high intensity acoustic energy increased the overall salt concentration in pork loins and retained its color and quality. The slices were more juicier and tender.…”

Influence of ultrasound-assisted tumbling on NaCl transport and the quality of pork

“…The NaCl content of each sample was determined in triplicate using a digital salt meter (ES-421, ATAGO, Tokyo, Japan) according to the method of Contreras-Lopez et al [12] with a slight change. After the experimental treatment was completed, all samples were immediately taken out of the tumbler drum and the adhered surface brine was washed with deionized water.…”

“…High-intensity ultrasound (US, 20–100 kHz, 10–1000 W/cm 2 ) has been considered as an innovative and green technology applied in mass transport [10] , and US could well shorten the curing time and improve the meat quality [11] , [12] . Kang et al [13] used US with different ultrasonic intensities (2.39, 6.23, 11.32, 20.96 W/cm 2 ) and observed that US could significantly increase the final NaCl content compared with static immerse curing.…”

High‐intensity ultrasound as a pre‐treatment of pork sub‐primals for further processing of meat

“…HIU causes bubble formation that hits the pork tissue, which may lead to microinjection of brine into the sample, increasing the NaCl content in pork (Cárcel et al ., 2007). The increase in mass transfer due to HIU treatment results in a faster and more consistent diffusion of the brine into the pork tissue (Cárcel et al ., 2007; Jayasooriya et al ., 2007; Ozuna et al ., 2013), with minimal impact or no effect on the quality of the final product (Inguglia et al ., 2018; McDonnell et al ., 2018; Contreras‐Lopez et al ., 2020). The effect of HIU on pork during wet marination depends on the ultrasound intensity applied (Ozuna et al ., 2013), the geometric parameters of ultrasound systems (Inguglia et al ., 2018), sample size and ultrasound system used (Cruz‐Garibaldi et al ., 2020).…”

“…A recent study has shown that the rate of brine penetration can be accelerated by applying HIU (37 kHz, 22 W/cm 2 ) in porcine m. longissimus lumborum . HIU increased the percentage of NaCl and but did not affect the colour, pH, water‐holding capacity (WHC) or shear force of pork (Contreras‐Lopez et al ., 2020). Other authors have explored the possibility of HIU‐assisted curing to reduce the NaCl content in meat (Ojha et al ., 2016; Inguglia et al ., 2018).…”