Effect of different cooking procedures on microbiological quality of chevon meat balls

Abstract

In this research, the effects of different cooking processes (pan fried and microwave cooking) on microbiological quality of the raw and cooked chevon meatballs were studied. Microbial flora of the raw meatballs was as follows: total plate count, 5.98±0.235 (log cfu/g); yeast and mould, 4.80±0.328 (log cfu/g); coliforms, 3.05±0.433 (log cfu/g). Highly significant (P<0.01) difference was noticed in microbiological quality of chevon meat balls. The cooking processes decreased the microbial flora approximately 2-3 log cycles, and pan frying was the effective cooking process for reducing microbial numbers compared to the microwave oven. The temperature of the Pan fried (150-160°C for 5-7 min) was higher than the To conclude, it was advised to use slightly higher temperatures than used in the microwave oven cooking procedures to increase microbial quality of the meat balls studied in this research.