Moisture and Heating Losses in Sous-vide Cooking
According to the results of sensory evaluation of pork and beef, the moisture content of meat products sealer by a vacuum sealer cooked by sous-vide cooking decreased when the cooking temperature and holding time were increased. Since moisture content and tenderness are the most important sensory properties in cooked meat, an optimal balance of these two should be considered. The results of some researchers indicated that even when the value of shear force was not ideal, juiciness due to moisture content enhanced tenderness. Other quality aspects may be affected by moisture content.
Becker and others found that the longissimus dorsi of pork was tender even when cooked at 58°C for 20 hours, but its texture was described as crumbly and not juicy compared to other low temperature heating (53°C and 20 hours with no holding time at 60°C). This result confirms a trend previously observed by Mortensen and others. Heating losses and shear force are some of the most widely studied parameters for sous-vide cooked meat because it is closely related to the moisture content and yield of the final product. The experimental results of Hansen and others showed that the heating loss of beef cooked for 5 hours at 62°C was 11%, and 59°C was 7%. Reducing heating loss is beneficial to the food processing industry, and sous-vide cooking has obvious advantages in this regard compared to other methods using higher temperatures. In addition, attention should be paid to the effect of these variables on moisture content loss when comparing heating loss results due to differences in sizes of samples, heating conditions, and original product states such as freeze-thaw cycles and packaging types. Laakkone and others showed that the weight loss process of beef (longissimus dorsi and semitendinosus) occurred in the initial heating process and during the first 3 hours of heating at 60°C. Overall, heating losses often occurred in the early stage of heating.
There are few studies comparing heating losses with moisture content. Individual studies have shown that sous-vide cooking resulted in greater cooking losses and lower moisture content as the temperature increased from 53°C to 58°C for longissimus dorsi in experiments. However, prolonged heating time did not cause significant changes in moisture content, and the weight loss after prolonged heating time may be caused by the loss of soluble collagen and various other proteins. Compared with traditional cooking, heating loss of sous-vide cooking is lower, which may be caused by the combined effect of process factors, mainly due to the lower heating temperature. Additionally, most sous-vide cooking is performed using a constant temperature water bath, which provides more uniform heating and a slow and even rate of heat penetration, so the product can stay in the water for hours without excessive heating and additional heating loss.
Becker and others found that the longissimus dorsi of pork was tender even when cooked at 58°C for 20 hours, but its texture was described as crumbly and not juicy compared to other low temperature heating (53°C and 20 hours with no holding time at 60°C). This result confirms a trend previously observed by Mortensen and others. Heating losses and shear force are some of the most widely studied parameters for sous-vide cooked meat because it is closely related to the moisture content and yield of the final product. The experimental results of Hansen and others showed that the heating loss of beef cooked for 5 hours at 62°C was 11%, and 59°C was 7%. Reducing heating loss is beneficial to the food processing industry, and sous-vide cooking has obvious advantages in this regard compared to other methods using higher temperatures. In addition, attention should be paid to the effect of these variables on moisture content loss when comparing heating loss results due to differences in sizes of samples, heating conditions, and original product states such as freeze-thaw cycles and packaging types. Laakkone and others showed that the weight loss process of beef (longissimus dorsi and semitendinosus) occurred in the initial heating process and during the first 3 hours of heating at 60°C. Overall, heating losses often occurred in the early stage of heating.
There are few studies comparing heating losses with moisture content. Individual studies have shown that sous-vide cooking resulted in greater cooking losses and lower moisture content as the temperature increased from 53°C to 58°C for longissimus dorsi in experiments. However, prolonged heating time did not cause significant changes in moisture content, and the weight loss after prolonged heating time may be caused by the loss of soluble collagen and various other proteins. Compared with traditional cooking, heating loss of sous-vide cooking is lower, which may be caused by the combined effect of process factors, mainly due to the lower heating temperature. Additionally, most sous-vide cooking is performed using a constant temperature water bath, which provides more uniform heating and a slow and even rate of heat penetration, so the product can stay in the water for hours without excessive heating and additional heating loss.