Abstract
Radiofrequency-assisted nitrogen cryogenic freezing previously proposed was optimized to increase meat quality. Continuous cryogenic (CCF, for 2.5 min) and pulsed cryogenic (PCF, 3 s pulse with 10 s interval for 10 min) freezing were set up. CCF and PCF were then combined with radiofrequency (RF) pulses to set up RF-CCF (10 s 2 kV RF pulse with 20 s interval during 2.5 min of continuous N 2 flow) and RF-PCF (30 s 2 kV RF pulse with 60 s interval, during 3 s nitrogen pulse with 10 s interval for 10 min). These processes were compared with slow (SF) and blast (BF) freezing. Meat quality ( i.e. , microstructure, drip loss, color, firmness) decreased in the order RF-PCF ≥ PCF > RF-CCF > BF > SF > CCF, indicating that nitrogen pulsing considerably reduced tissue damages and its combination with RF was crucial to further preserve tissue integrity. RF-PCF could be adapted to different matrices by tuning processing conditions. • Radiofrequency (RF) nitrogen cryogenic freezing of meat was optimized by a pulsing approach. • Nitrogen pulsing during meat freezing reduced tissue damage. • RF pulsing was modulated to guarantee homogeneous cryogenic freezing of meat. • Combining nitrogen pulses with RF was crucial to preserve meat microstructure.
Published Version
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