148 Chapter 7
Water
Water has several functions. It accelerates
curing and helps to extract water - soluble
meat proteins infl uencing most of the func-
tional properties and yield. It is also a means
to control batter temperature by adding ice in
cold emulsions or hot water during pat é man-
ufacturing. It reduces the per - unit cost and
lowers the product energy value, and it has a
direct impact on product texture by increas-
ing juiciness (Ockerman 2004 ).Fat
For fi nely comminuted meat products, fats
are major ingredients (in the range of 20%),
and they are essential for texture, taste, fl avor,
and physical - chemical stability. Traditionally,
fats came from fatty animal tissues directly
incorporated into meat batters as ingredients.
Fat emulsion or vegetable oils can also be
used. The four main factors infl uencing the
fi rmness of fat tissues are the water and lipid
contents, the extent of connective tissue, and
the fatty acid composition (Lebret et al.
1996 ). Fat tissues are less fi rm when they
contain few lipids and a lot of water. When
fat tissues contain a lot of connective tissue,
they are relatively soft at ambient tempera-
ture, but when temperature increases, the
connective tissue contracts and gels, trapping
lipids in a network that prevents lipid fl ow
(Lebret et al. 1996 ). At a given temperature,
a fat containing fewer unsaturated acids will
be fi rmer than one containing more. Highly
unsaturated fats have a lower melting point
compared with saturated fats. Animal fats are
principally triglycerides, but the fatty acid
composition of adipose tissues (and conse-
quently their fi rmness and their melting tem-
perature) depend greatly on their origin
(Lebret and Mourot 1998 ; Mourot and
Hermier 2001 ) and on the feeding regime.
Recent works were targeted to increase the
ratio of PUFA (polyunsaturated fatty acids)salting (Calderon 1984 ). Adding salt (NaCl)
before the concentration of ATP has fallen to
a level where rigor is initiated can maintain
the high binding properties of the meat.
Preventing bonds from forming between
actin and myosin causes the myofi brils to
swell (Sorheim et al. 2006 ). The pH in the
meat should be at a level above 5.9 – 6.0 at the
time of salting to fully utilize the benefi ts of
pre - salting of prerigor meat (Farouk and
Swan 1997 ; Honikel et al. 1981 ). During
frozen storage at temperatures of − 20 ° C or
lower the ATP concentration remains almost
unchanged. If beef frozen in this way is
processed before thawing, sausages of
excellent quality are obtained (Hamm 1972 ).
It is better to salt the prerigor meat before
freezing than to add the salt during the prepa-
ration of the sausage emulsion (Honikel
1978 ).
Mechanically Deboned Meat ( MDM )
MDM is obtained by mechanically separat-
ing remaining muscle tissue from the car-
casses (Heinz 2007 ). Mechanically deboned
poultry meat (MDPM) is frequently used in
the formulation of comminuted meat prod-
ucts due to its fi ne consistency and relatively
low cost (Harding Thomsen 1988 ; Mielnik et
al. 2002 ; Daros et al. 2005 ; Sari ç oban et al.
2008 ). Proteins from mechanically deboned
chicken meat show high gelling properties
compared with egg white and beef plasma
(Selmane et al. 2008 ). MDM contains about
ten times more polyunsaturated fatty acids
(PUFAs) and also more hemoproteins than
HDM and is essentially more susceptible to
both chemical and biochemical oxidation,
which results in off - fl avors and off - odors.
This is why MDM addition is limited, as it
affects physical, microbiological, and senso-
rial properties of the products and may result
in products that are not in line with national
food regulations in some countries (P ü ssa
et al. 2008 ).