Colour and sarcoplasmic protein evaluation of pork following water bath and ohmic cooking

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ohmic (OH) and waterbath (WB) cooking on colour attributes and sarcoplasmic changes of porcine longissimus dorsi muscle at the same endpoint temperatures (EPTs; range 10°C-80°C). The OH treatment was carried out at 10 Vcm(-1), and the WB temperature at 85°C. The colour parameters, deoxymyoglobin% (DeoMb) and metmyoglobin% (MetMb) of the OH-cooked meat were significantly lower (P<0.05) than those obtained by WB-cooking at the same EPTs (range 60°C-80°C). SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the meat treated with WB-cooking had a lower sarcoplasmic protein solubility (5.97 mg/g vs.14.89 mg/g, P<0.05) and fainter protein bands than that of OH-cooking thus, indicating paler colour, and lower water-holding capacity especially in WB-cooked meat at EPTs above 40°C. Strong correlations among lightness, browness, metmyoglobin% and soluble proteins were observed in meat following OH-cooking.