Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Structural Basis Of The Water-Holding, Appearance And Toughness Of Meat And Meat Products, Gerald Offer, Peter Knight, Robin Jeacocke, Richard Almond, Tony Cousins, John Elsey, Nick Parsons, Alan Sharp, Roger Starr, Peter Purslow
The Structural Basis Of The Water-Holding, Appearance And Toughness Of Meat And Meat Products, Gerald Offer, Peter Knight, Robin Jeacocke, Richard Almond, Tony Cousins, John Elsey, Nick Parsons, Alan Sharp, Roger Starr, Peter Purslow
Food Structure
A structural approach greatly clarifies which components of meat are responsible for its tenderness, water-holding and appearance, and the events occurring during processing.
In living muscle, water is held in the spaces between the thick and thin filaments. Changes in the content and distribution of water within meat originate from changes in this spacing. Myofibrils shrink laterally post mortem . The fluid expelled accumulates between fibre bundles and between fibres and is drain ed by gravity forming drip. In pale, soft and exudative meat, shrinkage of the myosin heads on denaturation increases myofibrillar shrinkage. In salt solutions used in meat …