Browning of Heated Ground Beef Containing Added Phospholipid and Reducing Sugar

Knowledge concerning reactions contributing to browning of cooked ground beef patties and the cooking drip is limited. The possible contribution of carbonyl-amine reaction(s) involving phospholipids and reducing sugar to color of cooked meat and drip was investigated.

Glucose was added at 2 and 4 percent levels to ground beef to which commercial bovine phospholipid had been added. The concentrations of reducing sugar and phospholipid and distribution of phospholipids among the three major classes were determined in raw and cooked meat. Light reflectance determinations were made on the cooked meat surface, and absorbance readings and reducing sugar determinations were made on the drip.

Phospholipid content of raw and cooked meat lipid did not differ significantly. Distribution of phospholipid classes was similar in raw and cooked meat. Drip phospholipids could not be separated by thin layer chromatography. Reducing sugar values for the cooked meat plus drip were less than those of raw meat. Browning of the meat did not increase with increasing glucose concentrations. Increasing glucose concentration did result in increased browning of the drip. Both caramelization and carbonyl-amine reactions could have contributed to drip browning. A possible role of phospholipids in browning could not be established in the absence of drip phospholipid data.