82 Electrical conductivity and cooking loss of beef loins and ground beef

Abstract

Abstract Electrical conductivity and cooking loss of beef loins and ground beef. S. P. Martinez, C. R. Richardson, T. Jin, and C. S. Mesquita, Texas State University, San Marcos. Appraisal of beef tenderness and overall quality assessment by consumers may be variable. In this study, two sources of beef loins and ground beef were used to determine if electrical conductivity measurements (ECM) are correlated with tenderness and cooking loss. Source 1 (S-1) was Choice grade loins and 80:20 ground beef, and Source 2 (S-2) was Prime grade loins and 80:20 ground beef. Steaks were cooked at 93°C in a smoker without humidity or smoke to an internal temperature of 71°C. Warner-Bratzler shear force values (WBSF) were determined on steaks. Samples of both raw and cooked loins (n = 48), and ground beef (n = 80) were emulsified for ECM. Procedures used for ECM were developed in our lab and consisted of using emulsified samples enclosed in a silicon vessel and concealed in a plastic bowl with a lid and a hole in two sides, for connecting embedded copper electrodes to a digital multimeter. ECM was measured in microsiemens (µS) over 60 s periods with a sampling rate of two per s. Cooking loss was measured after cooking to 71°C in George Foreman grills. The surface area of ground beef patties was determined using the equation SAcylinder=2πr2 + 2πr2h. Data analyses used were Pearson correlations, regression, and paired t-tests. Results show raw loin steaks from S-2 had higher ECM than S-1, 8.45, and 3.12 µS, respectfully (PPP > 0.05). Raw and cooked ECM values were significantly correlated.