Abstract:

Porcine longissimus muscles were used as materials to conduct treatments with polyphosphate, hexametaphosphate and pyrophosphate at various concentrations. Effects of the phosphates on tenderness and water-holding capacity (Honikel's drip loss method and centrifugation loss and cooking loss) of pork muscles were investigated using orthogonal array design. Results indicated polyphosphate had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on tenderness of pork muscles. The best tenderness of pork muscles was obtained through a combined treatment using the three phosphates with respective concentrations of 0.3%, 0.3% and 0.2%. According to cooking loss, the optimal combination consisted of 0.2% pyrophosphate, 0.3% polyphosphate and 0.2% hexametaphosphate.

Key words: muscle, tenderness, water-holding capacity, polyphosphate