Handbook of Meat Processing

Canned Products and Pâté 347

Liver (poultry, pork, game, etc.)

Lean meat + viscera

12 - 18% final product

Fat

45 - 50% final product

Cooking at 80oC

Scalding at 65oC

HOMOGENIZATION

(emulsion formation)

Spices, herbs,

other additives

Heattreatment

time-temperature relationship

depends on the can or casing

diameter

Figure 19.2. Flow diagram of liver p â t é fabrication.

Table 19.1. Nutritional content of pork liver p â t é and p â t é de foie - gras (100 g)

energy

(kcal)

protein

(g)

fat(g) Cholesterol

(mg)

sodium

(mg)

Iron

(mg)

pork liver p â t é 305 10 28 96 660 3.5

p â t é de foie - gras 448 10 44 380 740 6.4

http://www.consumer.es/web/es/alimentacion/aprender_a_comer_bien/curiosidades/2008/01/19/145977.php

58 minutes at the product center; in large
formats (150 mm diameter), 68 ° to 70 ° C for
314 to 360 minutes are necessary for a fully
processed material (Totosaus and P é rez -
Chabela 2005 ). Figure 19.2 depicts the
general process to obtain liver p â t é. In addi-
tion to ensuring product microbial safety,
heating develops sensory characteristics such
as fl avor and texture; the emulsion turns into
a gel, stabilizing the product, although the
high fat content also contributes to the desir-
able spreadability characteristic of this meat
product.
In the case of p â t é foie gras, the high fat
content (44%, Table 19.1 ) makes this product
melt too easily, so it is served chilled; liver
p â t é s can be served warm or hot. Chefs rec-
ommend that canned p â t é age for three
months before opening, to develop fl avor.

Physicochemical Characteristics

Since p â t é is a semisolid food that is expected
to be consumed as a spread, texture in general

and spreadability in particular are the most

important physicochemical characteristics.

Spreadability, a subjective texture charac-

teristic of semisolid foods, is related to the

material yield stress, the minimum shear

stress required to initiate fl ow ( σ o); it is

inversely proportional to σ o. Kryscio and

others (2008) developed a method to measure

spreadability of pharmaceutical topical for-

mulations, based on a torque exerted by a

vane. It involves the immersion of vane

blades into a sample, followed by slow rota-

tion at a constant speed until the torque

exerted on the vane reaches a maximum

value and the sample begins to fl ow. Torque

versus time curves are used to determine

yield stress, and the maximum torque

exerted on the vane by the fl uid is measured.

Daubert and others (2007) reported a method

for rapid and quantitative measurement of

spreadability based on the yield point of

food items. The authors concluded that this

textural property has been linked to the

yield stress of a material, but observations