Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
<~~~~J~~~~~
1
Pxocess~.n~ of meat
This invention relates to a process for. improving
meats intended for cooking, more particularly those
intended fax prepared dishes.
Same cooked pieces of high-quality meat, i.e. lean and
low in collagen, can have texture deficiencies when they
are regenerated in an oven or in boiling water after having
been stored, for example, in the frozen state, even if
cooking has been brief and carried out at low temperature.
Other pieces of meat of poorer quality, i.e. generally
containing more fat and more collagen, require longer
cooking at higher temperatures, In this case, water is
exuded in considerable quantities during cooking. The
texture is thus dry, heterogeneous and hard. The meat
yield diminishes as a result of the exudation.
Ta obviate these disadvantages and to obtain the
desired tenderness and juiciness with an improved yield,
polyphosphates are generally incorporated in the raw meat,
for example in the form of a marinade. This addition is
unpopular among consumers because, although the poly-
phosphates retain water during cooking and ensure the
desired tenderness, they generally conceal the fibrous
texture of the meat by giving it a texture resembling that
of delicatessen products. In addition, the use of poly
phosphates is being increasingly opposed at the nutritional
level.
It has been proposed to incorporate native whey
proteins as an extending agent in raw meat, cf. for example
European patent application EP-A 31 631: We found that
this method had both technical disadvantages insofar as the
incorporation of high-foaming native proteins was difficult
and organoleptic disadvantages in the respect that the
texture was unsatisfactory.
The invention enables the disadvantages mentioned
2
above to be obviated.
The process according to the invention, in which the
meat is treated with a marinade containing lactic proteins
so that the marinade is completely absorbed, is charac-
terized in that thermally denatured whey proteins are
incorporated in the raw meat in a quantity of 0.5 to 2.5%
by weight.
The meat may be, for example, pork, beef, lamb, veal,
poultry, for example chicken or turkey, or game. It may be
selected from the better cuts low in fats and in collagen,
for example tenderloin, loin, kernel of pork or veal,
blade-bone of beef, breast of chicken or turkey. It also
may consist of poorer cuts containing more fat and col-
lagen, for example neck of beef, veal, lamb or mutton, chop-
ped kernel of pork, knuckle of beef, veal, pork,. lamb. or mutton,
drumstick or thigh of chicken or turkey.
The sizes of the pieces may vary from the complete
muscle to cubes, slices or mince. The pieces are preferab-
ly trimmed, i.e. freed from most of the visible fat,
connective tissue and nerve tissue.
The whey proteins emanate from sweet whey for cheese
manufacture of which the pH value is adjusted to 6-7. They
are subjected to a thermal denaturing treatment. The
desired denaturing level is 50 to 90%. The denaturing
level is expressed by the following ratio:
total nitrogen - soluble nitrogen
x 100
total nitrogen - non-protein nitrogen
by conventional nitrogen analysis using the Kjeldahl
method.
The denaturing treatment may be carried out on the
whey as such or concentrated, for example, to approximately
15% dry matter by wei ght, for exampl a by evaporation i n vacuo. The
heat treatment may be carried out in batches, for example
3
in a double-walled tank with stirring, or continuously in
a heat exchanger, for example of the scraped-surface, plate
or tube type, or even in an ultra-high-temperature steril-
izer. The treatment time and temperature may be adapted to
the required denaturing level and may be, for example, 95-
125°C and 3 to 30 wins, respectively, the highest tempera-
ture being associated with the shortest time.
Flocculation occurs. The dispersion is neutralized
with a basic solution and is then concentrated by
1o ultra filtration to approximately 20-22 o by wei gh.t. dry matter.
This step enables the dispersion to be enriched with whey
proteins, for example to 30-40% by weight dry matter, by
eliminating part of the lactose and the minerals. Finally,
the retentate is dried, for example by spray drying.
The denatured whey proteins (DWps) constitute 0.5 to
2.5m and preferably 0.8 to 1.6% by weight of the raw meat.
According to the invention and in the interests of clarity,
the quantity of denatured protein should in fact be under-
stood as the theoretical quantity of pure protein and not
as the quantity of protein concentrate as obtained in
practice. By contrast, in the Examples, the quantities
incorporated relate to the concentrate.
The whey protein concentrate makes up 9 to 20% by
weight of the marinade. The marinade may contain other
ingredients, such as carbohydrates, for example starch,
lactose, glucose, maltodextrin, salt, spices and
flavourings.
The marinade preferably contains 7 to 13% by weight
non-gelatinized starch.
Because they are denatured, the proteins do not gel
during subsequent cooking. Gelling is ensured by the
starch. In the preferred gelling system, the denatured
whey proteins would structure the gel by linking with the
muscle fibres, although this is of course only a
hypothesis. The resulting stabilization of the texture
C~ ~~ Yf
1;~~~~~.~ ~.
would resist any retraction of fibres during the successive
heat treatments, for example cooking, freezing and regener-
ation in the kitchen, by acting on the tenderness of the
meat. The starch responsible far the formatian of the gel
stabilizes the water present in the muscle and prevents
excessive exudation during the successive heat treatments.
Thus, the choice of the starch and its concentration
are adapted to the method of cooking, i.e. brief or pro
longed. Tn the case of brief cooking, which is suitable
for lean meats of high quality, for example 15 to 25
minutes at a core temperature of approximately 70 to 80°C,
starch from tubers, fox example potato starch, is par-
ticularly suitable. For the treatment of poorer quality
meats richer in collagen, prolonged cooking, for example
for 3 to 4 h, at a core temperature of 90 to 100°C requires
a starch capable of withstanding high temperatures, for
example a cereal starch, more particularly crosslinked,
modified corn starch. The starch may of course be selected
from conventional sources, for example rice, wheat or corn.
To prepare the marinade, the ingredients except the
DWPs and the starch are dissolved in cold water, for
example at 4 to 20 ° C. The starch and, last of all, the
DWPs are then incorporated with vigorous stirring. Since
the starch is not soluble in cold water, either the vis-
cosity of the solution may be increased by addition of a
thickener or, preferably, stirring may be carried out
continuously before or during incorporation to prevent the
starch from sedimenting which would result in irregular
distribution of the constituents of the marinade.
The quantity of marinade incorporated in the meat may
amount to between 10 and 20°s by weight, based on the raw
meat. The method by which the marinade is incorporated in
the pieces of meat may be infection by means of needles,
followed by churning, preferably in a light vacuum, which
provides for thorough and uniform penetration and distribu-
5
Lion of the marinade. In some cases, for example for
poultry meat, small pieces or mince, churning is suffi-
cient. The churning time should not be too long in order
to maintain the integrity of the pieces. The churning time
is, for example, from 10 to 30 minutes.
The treatment with the marinade is preferably carried
out at a low temperature of 0 to 10°C after the meat has
been heated to a temperature of -3°C to 4°C.
Depending on the type of meat and the pieces, cooking
may be brief or prolonged or may even be carried out under
pressure. The pieces may be browned before cooking. In
this case, it is of advantage to coat the pieces with an
oil-based coating marinade before browning. The coating
marinade may contain, for example, soya sauce, meat ex
tract, glucose, frying oil, spines. It may be applied in
a quantity of 3 to 7% by weight, based on the raw meat, by
simple kneading.
Cooking may be carried out by stewing, for example in
the presence of a stock, with separation of the cooking
juice by draining, followed after cooking and cooling by
reincorporation of a sauce containing the juice and packing
in the presence of a garnish, for example vegetables, in a
container.
Alternatively, cooking may be carried out in a con-
tamer, for example in an open casing, optionally after
browning of the pieces, the juice may be separated by
draining after cooking and the casing sealed. In this
case, the meat may constitute an intermediate product
intended for subsequent use in a prepared dish.
After cooking and cooling, the meat or the prepared
dish containing the meat may be packed, refrigerated,
frozen or even sterilized.
The products obtained in accordance with the invention
may be regenerated by treatment in boiling water, in a
microwave oven, in an infrared oven or in a gas oven.
~~~:rZ~~~:~~
6
The texture of the meats is stabilized as a function
of time, i.e. is homogeneous, constant and precisely
defined, despite the heat treatments involved in freezing
and regeneration. The meats have excellent organoleptic
properties and, in particular, axe juicy and tender and
have a good flavour. By virtue of the process according to
the invention, the original texture of the meats is retain-
ed throughout the treatment, storage and regeneration. The
yield of the process is comparable with the yield obtain-
able by incorporation of polyphosphates.
The whey proteins have a desired whitening effect on
poultry meats.
The invention is illustrated by the following Examples
in which percentages are by weight. In these Examples, the
global yield is expressed as the percentage by weight of
meat obtained after the treatment in relation to the meat
initially used. The cooking yield is the percentage by
weight of meat obtained after cooking in relation to the
marinated meat, i.e.:
cooked meat (not cooled, but optionally drained)
meat + marinade
Examples 1-6
1. Whey from the production of Camembert, dry matter
content 6.5%, consisting of 75% lactose, 12% protein,
8.8% minerals and 5% fats is concentrated by evapora-
tion to 15% dry matter. The initial pH of 6.3 falls
to C,.1. The cancentrate is then heat-treated with
stirring for 30 minutes at 95°C in a double-walled
tank. A flocculate is formed. The suspension is
neutralized to pH 7 by addition of an aqueous sodium
hydroxide solution. After its temperature has been
adjusted to 50°C, the suspension is subjected to
ultrafiltration in a module equipped with membranes
~ ~~, ,... ...., ~ r~
~.~~~~a~~~
7
having a molecular weight cut-off zone of 20,000 to
40,000 daltons until the retentate has a dry matter
content of 21-220. Finally, the retentate is dried by
spray drying.
The denatured whey proteins obtained have the follow-
ing composition:
0
Dry matter 96
including protein 40
fats 5
lactose 38
minerals 13
Water
4
The denaturing level (Kjeldahl method) is 80%.
2-6. The procedure is as in Example 1 above, except that
the thermal denaturing treatment is carried out in the
apparatus indicated and under the treatment temper-
ature and time conditions indicated in Table 1 below
starting out from whey containing 6.5% dry matter,
i.e. non-concentrated:
C,~ rt1 ~ ~~ P
01 U1 .P W N tz1
N
Id (D fD (D (D
''..~'b' ".~' N (A
C.,'b ~'d UI U1
ct ~C ~C ~C
r- m m
x ~ a-~
fD (7 (1 (7 C1
~ N W fWi ff
H fv tv ~-t
~f+rr~rrrt ~rnw ~'rna~s~
r- w s~ w w w ~s
i cn m w ~
.~ ~
~c+~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o w
i ca m
ro
w R ~q ~ pct ws~
SD rt ct (D !D
W sZ ca.
m cu ro m i
~c ~c ~
m n ~ ~s n ~t m
~ ~a ~ ~
~
n~ua~m m m m
m w w
w rt rr
rr
r r H
r r m
O o
N IO i 0 1 "Cf
Ut Ut ~ ~
~ y' H
'i
N N f11 N
C~' b'
N
fi N
r
O
W V1 01 X31 01
r-
~
~m
N
...
~ d
~
O O O O O C"
J
N W
~.-'
fr
G
~n
ov
r~
9
Example 7
A piece of pork loin weighing 0.3 kg, which has been
trimmed and defatted, is defrosted in a heating cupboard
kept at 4°C. The piece of meat has a pH of 5.5-5.8. A
marinade representing 15% of the raw meat is injected into
the centre of the piece of meat by means of a multiple-
needle injector. The injection marinade has the following
composition:
0
Denatured whey proteins (DWPs)
according to Example 1 1$
Crystallized glucose 7~9
Salt 4.9
Water 69.2
It is prepared by dissolving the salt and glucose in
cold water and then incorporating the DWPs with vigorous
stirring. After injection, the meat is treated in a
malaxating churn for 30 minutes at 10°C after having been
coated with a coating marinade. The coating marinade
represents 7% of the raw meat and has the following com-
position:
Hydrolyzate, meat extract 49
Native starch 12
Vegetable oil 20
Reducing sugar
Water 13
The meat is then treated by brief cooking at a low
temperature in a controlled-humidity oven to a core temper-
ature of 75°C. The meat is then cooled to 15°C in a
ventilated tunnel. After cutting into slices, the meat is
placed with a sauce in a bag of flexible, boilproof plastic
material which is then hermetically sealed. Finally, the
'i.9 e,i~ e~~ u:1
bags are frozen at -30°C.
The cooking yield is 78% and the global yield 93%.
Comparison Examples A-D
5 A. By way of comparison, the cooking yield is 74% and the
global yield 81% in the case of a meat into which no
marinade has been injected. In addition, after
regeneration for 15 minutes in boiling water, the core
temperature being 60°C, the texture is considered to
10 be unctuous and tender for the injected meat whereas
the non-injected meat has a dry, hard and hetero-
geneous texture.
F3-D. In order to demonstrate the advantages of injecting
thermally denatured whey proteins over native whey
proteins, loin of pork is cooked in the same way as in
Example 7 except that the injection marinade contains
8% (Example C) and 12% (Example E) of native whey
proteins, depending on their composition, in order to
obtain a whey protein content of 0.95% in the raw meat
after the injection of 15% marinade, based on the raw
meat. The marinade also contains 4.6% salt, the
balance to 100% being water and glucose. In addition,
there is no coating. In Example D, there is no
injection. Regeneration is carried out in the same
way as in Comparison Example A above. The results
relating to the yield and texture are shown in Table
2 below.
a r n bi t~
t~
u.
o
N
N r O
O'
O
O
~
G
~~
N N ~
~'.., 00 ONpJ G'
fv
~\~ ~\~
N G fi r-
r
~ ~
~
.P I O O r
I n NM~ ro
N
~
~ ~w
~' o ~
ro
G c n ~ m
n ~
~ .
sz
~2M fD "d 'C
~C
'r3.
W LTJ~ ~C
rh>CN '
N ~ ~"!
~ x
sy~
~ H
tnN rt O
O C7N ~
(D
N
G :~ a a o, a ...
G
~ 'p 00 00 v~~ N
r r'T'Cfi
O r ct
fnSD r.
r~ fD
N
~t ~' H
O ~' r
fhO
N
r ~r
N
fi
x~
r-n a cn o~ a
r I
f t
N
rh
N
O
~
ff
G
N
(D
fD n p' C7 f1 N f7
V1 C7 U1 H
hA f'h ~C (D ~
~C N Fh N
.
,
v
O ft
>v
G
12
In the course of the tests, the DWPs showed certain
advantages over the native proteins:
- They are readily dispersible in water with vigorous
stirring and do not have the foaming properties of
native whey proteins.
- The DWPs do not have gelling properties under the
effect of heat. By contrast, the native whey proteins
do not gel completely under the cooking conditions
used. This explains the sandy character observed in
Comparison Example B due apparently to the presence of
suspended protein particles which have not yet gelled.
- The DWPs have the ability to retain more water and to
act as a binder which gives the meat a stabilized,
more juicy, soft and homogeneous texture.
Examples 8-12
Various pieces of meat are treated in the same way as
in Example 7 using an incorporation marinade in a quantity
of 10 or 200, based on the raw meat. The incorporation
marinade has the following composition:
DWP concentrate of Example 1 9 - 15
including 40% protein 3.6 - 6
Potato starch 9 - 12.7
Lactose
Salt 4.5
Water balance to 100
To prepare the marinade, the salt and the lactose are
first dissolved in water at 10°C in a tank, after which the
starch and the DWPs are incorporated with vigorous
stirring. To prevent sedimentation of the starch, which
does not dissolve at 10°C, the contents of the tank are
stirred continuously during incorporation in the meat.
The above marinade is incorporated either by injection
13
or by churning. In the latter case, churning lasts 15
minutes and no coating marinade is used. The conditions o~
the process and the results obtained are set out in Table
3 below.
~ O
p N F~ O
W
b
I O ~ t1 O O O H
H aJ Vi (l~
M ri ~' I-h I-b t-h tD
~' n ~' ~' (D
r C R fi
-
O ct f ~Ci C .
~ 1 G 'i1
~ ~
ct~ N %' O fD O !D
~' G1 I--'N
N
~ ~ D N
~f
(DD(1~ O ~
(
'~ M
x
Ip~ ~ u. u. u.
, ri ti Ip (D (D r
O
p ~
O
O O
N N o\o
r
O O N 1-~ N O
o\o o\o O O O
o\o o\o o\o
O
rh
t0 ~
~ O U1 ~.a
b
t0 N
w w
o
N
(D
W W r l0 N f'I' W
~1
J
n
~,
~o
1 I ~1 ~1 00
I i W U1 r
O
O
to
r-
o'P
v
07 O 00 J OJ ~
',A'
~0 ~ oo rt
tD
5C
ri
fv
(D
H
(D
X
u. (~
~ ~t
H O
M M M C1. tfi I'i
~
ct c9 ct C rf O
~ 4
~
ft f3 Wn
p
O
G
N
s
r ~~ c~ ~' ~' ~ %~
y~ i'.~ (~ ?J
Comparison Examples E-J
By way of comparison, the same pieces are prepared in
the same way either with injection of 200, based on the raw
meat, of an aqueous solution containing polyphosphates (the
5 content of injected polyphosphates is 0.3%, expressed as
PZ~s, based on the raw meat, Example E) or without injection
(Examples F-J).
The process conditions and the results are shown in
Table 4 below:
a H x u~ ~ r~
w
ro
I m H 0 '~ C O O H
a1 cn cn H
ct~ ~n o ro rhro rnro ro
~' ~'
N- r- n w ~ ~ w
N ro o o
~ ~' xw ~~ o o m
w ~
x 't
' n
7
~ ( 5G' 55'
D O p
t+ ~ ~ O ~ ~
~ M
O cfi O O
~h
fi ~i
~i
SC
G
N
ro
n
~ 1 I I 1 I ~
N O
N ~ tf
N pt
O it o\
O o\
ro
~i
O
~L
ro
ff
ro
I 1 1 1 ~l 07 N ~:'
1 I I I ~ N . ro
w ~
o
~R
a
~ C
mro
rt n
N- w
~1 ~1 av ~ R N
~
H
ro
n rr
x ~
ro
~~u w a a ~a ~.~rcn
a a
rown roc n n ron n~o o
~
w n "O "C "C fr~C w ct
"C ~C rn
~
~
f1 n ~' ~ O ''U
N W ~' W
~ ro w w la. w sz. ~r
n e~ n
~
ro ~ ~ ~ ~ N
Q N
t 1 ~ . h
ll '~ i
W C
ro ro O' roN
O~ c ~
'I'
~i U~
~R H
t-~
~ rh O N
~
ro
N
17
Compared with the polyphosphates, the mixture of DWPs
and potato starch enables a substantially equivalent yield
to be obtained (8 compared with E). From the paint of view
of texture, it is soft, juicy and tender while maintaining
the characteristics of the original meat whereas the
polyphosphates mask the fibrous structure of the meat, the
"preserved" texture resembling that of the delicatessen
product. The stabilized texture obtained in 8 is main-
tained during storage for at least 6 months at -10°C and at
-20°C whereas, according to E, the meat dries out during
storage.
For veal, (9 compared with G), the injection of DWPs
and potato starch, by standardizing the textures of the
various constituent muscles of the shoulder, avoids fine
cutting of the piece of meat which is difficult to carry
out on an industrial scale.
So far as poultry meat (11 compared with I and 12
compared with J), the injection of DWPs and starch gives a
juicy texture with no separation of particles and whitens
the meat.
Examples 13-14
Pieces of meat of poorer quality containing more
collagen than the meats of the preceding Examples require
longer cooking at a higher temperature than in the preced
ing Examples (stewing).
Meat relatively rich in collagen is defrosted and
heated to 0-2°C. After cutting into cubes, the meat is
completely defrosted at 4°C, after which the pieces are
injected with an injection marinade having the following
composition by means of a multiple-needle injector.
18
DWP concentrate of Example 1 15~2
Modified corn starch 10.8
Lactose 12.5
Salt 7.7
Water balance to 100
The pieces are then kneaded with a coating marinade in
the same way as in Example 7. The pieces are then browned
and are then placed on plates with a cooking stock. The
pieces are then cooked in the presence of steam-saturated
air to a core temperature of 95°C. After draining, the
pieces of meat are cooled and then placed in containers
with a garnish of vegetables and a sauce. A lid is placed
on the containers which are put into cartons and finally
frozen at -30°C.
After regeneration in a domestic infrared oven or
microwave oven, the meats are tasted. The nature of the
meats, the injection conditions and the tasting results are
shown in Table 5 below.
30
Table 5
Example Meat Injection Global Texture mark
yield
13 Pork 10 72 8
stew
14 Boeuf 10 70
bourguignon
Comparison Examples K~L
By way of comparison, the same meats (K: pork, L:
beef) are treated by injection with 10% of an aqueous
solution containing polyphosphates (the content of injected
polyphosphates is 0.3%, expressed as PZOS, based on the raw
meat). The meats containing polyphosphates are awarded a
6fl 7,
,~ t
4~.J ~~ t.~ C./ ~J~
19
mark of 7. They are more compact, the fibers are masked.
Examples 15-16
15. Raw beef containing 15o fat and 16 to 18% collagen,
based on the proteins is roughly chopped after which a
marinade having the following composition is added:
DWP concentrate of Example 1 13.8
Modified corn starch 8.1
Salt, reducing sugar and flavouring 11
Water 57.1
The meat is mixed with the marinade (representing 15%
of the raw meat). The meat is then chopped finely into 6
mm particles and placed in casings which are closed at only
one of their ends. The meat is then cooked in boiling
water so as to maintain a core temperature of >90°C for 45
minutes. After cooking, the meat is drained, the casings
are hermetically sealed, rapidly cooled and then frozen.
The global yield, i.e. the percentage of drained
cooked meat in relation to the raw meat used, is 80 to 83a.
By way of comparison, the global yield of the same process
without incorporation of marinade is 62-65%.
16. Raw beef having the same fat and collagen content as
in Example 15 is cut into cubes weighing 25-30 g and then
injected with 15o marinade, based on the raw meat, using a
multiple-needle injector.
The injection marinade has the following composition:
DWP concentrate of Example 1 13.8
Modified corn starches 8.1
Salt, reducing sugar and flavouring 14.5
Water 63.6
20
After injection, the meat is kneaded in the presence
of an oil-based coating marinade representing 30 of the raw
meat. The pieces are then browned, placed in casings and
subjected to the same operations as in Example 15. The
global yield is 80% whereas the global yield of the same
process without injection of marinade is 63%.
