Effects of Pulsed Pressure Curing on Beef Quality

Abstract

The study was proposed to investigate the effects of pulsed pressure curing on the beef absorption of the curing solution, cooking loss, moisture content, centrifugal loss, salt content, sensory attributes, texture, microstructures and volatile compounds. Curing methods include the following four treatments: (1) control group 1—static curing (SC); (2) control group 2—vacuum curing (VC); (3) control group 3—pressurized curing (PC); and (4) treatment group—pulsed pressure curing (PPC). The acquired results revealed that pulsed pressure curing significantly boosts the curing efficiency and moisture content, decreases cooking loss in beef, brightens meat color, and enhances texture compared to static curing, vacuum curing, and pressurized curing. Additionally, centrifugal losses were not impaired, and sensory findings revealed that PPC significantly improved the saltiness of beef. TPA results showed that the springiness and cohesiveness of PPC were greatly increased, and hardness and chewiness were significantly reduced. Moreover, PPC significantly reduced the content of 1-octen-3-ol and 1-hexanol. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images documented that pulsed pressure curing can effectively increase the tenderness of beef. This study demonstrates that processed meat product efficiency and sensory attributes should be taken into account when selecting a curing technique, and the PPC technique has an advantage in both areas.