Cooked sausage batter cohesiveness as affected by sarcoplasmic proteins

In the first trial, m. semitendinosus and m. biceps femoris were held at 0, 10 and 35 °C until they entered rigor, and in the second trial, minced m. semitendinosus was washed in water for 15, 30, 45 or 60 min. The samples from both the trials were then used to make a finely comminuted sausage batter. Soluble sarcoplasmic protein (SSP) levels decreased with increasing rigor temperature (P < 0.05) or washing (P < 0.01). Cooked batter shear stress was not affected by SSP level, but batter shear strain decreased with the decreasing SSP level associated with an increasing rigor temperature (P < 0.05) or washing (P < 0.01). Reducing the SSP content lowered the cook yield (P < 0.05) and emulsion stability (P < 0.01) of the batter from the washed samples compared to that of controls. The results suggest that sarcoplasmic proteins are important in determining the strain values (cohesiveness) of cooked sausage batter.