Thermal Analysis of Meat Emulsion Cooking Process by Computer Simulation and Experimental Measurement

Abstract

The Finite Element Method was used to calculate the heat transfer processes that take place during cooking of meat emulsions formulated with different amounts of pork fat or olive oil. Experimental data acquired in the pilot plant were used to validate the theoretical model obtained by computer simulation. The results indicate that the computer simulation predicts to a good approximation. The most important parameters were cooking time and temperature of the meat emulsions. In addition, the theoretical model provides information about the temperature fields for all points in the meat emulsion. For a given fat content, no differences were found in the thermal properties of the emulsions elaborated with pork back fat or olive oil (p >0.05). Instead, the different fat and water content of the meat emulsion formulation determined the differences in the temperature-time evolution during the cooking process.