• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.914-920
• /
• 2011

The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of salt and drying period on the physicochemical and sensory parameters of dry-cured ham ripened in a controlled condition. In this study, three treatments were performed: High salt group (HS), salted with 7 g $kg^{-1}salt$ (w/w); Middle salt group (MS), 5 g $kg^{-1}salt$ and; Low salt group (LS), 3 g $kg^{-1}salt$. Three conditions of drying period were applied including 180, 270 and 360 d at $19^{\circ}C$ and 65% relative humidity, and the physicochemical character and sensory properties of M. biceps femoris were investigated. pH and water activity were decreased with increasing drying period, and the pH of LS was higher than that of other treatments (p<0.05). When increasing the drying period, the hardness of HS was steadily raised for 360 d, whereas LS and MS hardened between 180 and 270 d (p<0.05), and there was no significant difference after 270 d. Cohesiveness, glumness and chewiness had a positive relationship with the drying period. Also, springiness, glumness and chewiness showed a positive relationship with salt level. Chroma and hue value were improved by increasing the salt level. As the drying period increased, the rate of hardness and flavor intensity was increased. In general, this research can be used as essential information for the mass production of dry cured ham.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.435-442
• /
• 2010

The study analyzed the effects of salt concentration [high salt (HS) and low salt (LS)] and sodium nitrite ($NaNO_2$), which are typically utilized in Korean processing facilities, on fatty acid composition, free amino acids, microbial counts and sensory characteristics of processed dry-cured ham. Four different treatments were considered: three hams (11.30 kg) salted with 92 g/kg salt (w/w) (HS), three hams (10.65 kg) treated with HS and 100 ppm $NaNO_2$ (HS+$NaNO_2$), three hams (11.42 kg) salted with 62 g/kg salt (w/w) (LS), and three hams (10.62 kg) treated with LS and 100 ppm $NaNO_2$ (LS+$NaNO_2$). Fatty acid composition analysis revealed significantly (p<0.05) higher saturated fatty acid and lower (p<0.05) unsaturated fatty acid in the HS+$NaNO_2$ group compared with the other groups. Glutamate, alanine and lysine free amino acids were higher than the other free amino acids. The processing conditions did not significantly affect the free amino acids of biceps femoris muscles, except for the proline content (p>0.05). In sensory evaluation, the fermentation aroma of the LS group was higher than that of the HS group. The aerobic counts consistently ranged from from $2.3{\times}10^2$ to $1.11{\times}10^4$ CFU/g. Escherichia coli including strain O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp. were not detected.