Abstract
The traditional British pork pie consists of roughly chopped pork cooked in a hot water pastry crust. Due to shrinkage of the meat during cooking, the gap formed around the meat is usually sealed using a gelatin based jelly to exclude air and thus help to preserve the pie. The properties of the jelly are such that it will ingress into the pastry crust causing undesirable softening. The jelly is traditionally produced by simmering pig trotters with seasoning for several hours. In this work we demonstrate the potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a tool for investigating the conditions required for producing jellies with different properties and present two examples of this use. Firstly we demonstrate that MRI can determine the ability of water to diffuse through the jelly which is critical in minimizing the amount of moisture moving from the jelly to the crust. Secondly, the impact of jelly temperature on the penetration length into the crust is investigated. These examples highlight the power of MRI as a tool for food assessment.
Highlights
The traditional British pork pie consists of roughly chopped pork cooked in a hot water pastry crust, with one particular variant having been recognized by the European Union protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs such as the Melton Mowbray pork pie [18]
It is most likely that the initial increase in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) around the 99% point is due to an error in the fitting procedure
In this work we have shown that Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) may be used to determine the extent to which water diffuses within traditionally produced jelly
Summary
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), most well-known for medical applications, has been increasing in popularity as a technique for use in the assessment of food and drink products [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15]. Examples of food studies using MRI include the nature of water distribution in bread during storage [1], the characteristics of cooked and cured meats [2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12], the characterization of water mobility and distribution in cereals and cookies [13], quality control and sensory quantification of dairy products [14,15] and recent review articles [16,17]. Due to shrinkage of the meat during cooking, the gap formed around the meat is usually sealed using a jelly to exclude air and help preserve the pie and maintain favorable organoleptic properties by maintaining desired moisture content This same moisture stabilization which is desirable in the meat component has a negative effect on the pastry crust which softens over time. In this work we demonstrate that MRI provides a powerful tool for determining the ideal conditions for minimizing the amount of moisture moving from the jelly to the crust, resulting in an undesirable softening of the pie crust
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
