Texture Analysis SolutionsGround Meat Firmness
Highlights
- Objective comparative measurement process developed for the physical properties of a meat product of differing cook profiles
- Repeatable and quick test method on a same-sized reconstituted meat patty using a software-controlled texture analyzer
- Industry-standard Kramer fixture to compress and shear averaged throughout the sample indicative of a bite
- Quantified hardness texture correlated to the ideal firmness and tenderness of restructured meat in processed and shaped form
Situation
A large producer of cooked sausage products for the foodservice industry needed a way to measure the effect that changes in the raw product, as well as the grinding and cooking process had on the finished product texture.
Textural properties of the finished product are a key characteristic in the judgment of quality as well as an indication of proper processing.
The processor currently only used human sensory methods to gauge these differences and therefore, no objective measurements to back up whether the products met a certain level of quality.
Method
The products were tested using the Kramer standard shear/compression test cell. A single patty was first cut to size, using a template so that all samples were the exact same size. After being cut, samples were placed in the shear cell for testing.
The shear cell consists of 10 blades that compress, shear and extrude the product. This allows for a large cross-section of the product to be tested each time, giving more repeatable results.
Significance
• Quick and easy test designed to supplement the sensory evaluation
• Software facilitates automatic statistical analysis and data storage
• Allows customer to put objective numbers to correspond with sensory evaluations
• This test method is also applied to measure the texture of other ground meat products such as hamburger
