Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1983

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Food Science and Technology

Major Professor

Curtis C. Melton

Committee Members

Sharon Melton, Jim Riemann

Abstract

A total of 36 right and left paired hams In the year-old ham study (Phase I) were country-style cured in an environmentally controlled room and the left hams were packaged with wax. The left hams were waxed after approximately 3-1/2 months and further aged 4-1/2 months. The right hams were hung in stockinettes and aged under the same time and conditions as the waxed left pair. The chemical analysis is the same as the 6-month ham study (Phase II) using four different types of packaging, except for the chemical analysis on the fresh hams. Hams aged in wax had a higher moisture percentage and a lower percentage of fat and ash than hams that were aged in stockinettes. Hams aged in wax had lower titratable acidity than the hams aged unwaxed. No other significant differences were found between the waxed and unwaxed in pH, salt content, concentration of water soluble amino compounds, and carbohydrates. No significant difference (P<0.05) in cooking loss was found between the waxed and unwaxed. Hams that were aged in wax had a 9% higher yield than the unwaxed hams. The lack of significant differences in sensory characteristics between the waxed and unwaxed hams is probably the most significant finding of the one year study. In Phase II (the 6-month old ham study) a total of 62 right and left paired hams were cured, and the left hams packaged after they had lost 18% (USDA legal requirement) of their initial weight. The fatter hams, the last to lose 18%, were placed in the cryovac bags (Treatments 3 and 4). All left ham packages were aged approximately one month. Of the 31 left hams in the Phase II study, 21 hams were packaged in wax (Treatment 1), 5 hams packaged in oxygen permeable bags (Treatment 3), and 5 were packaged in an oxygen impermeable barrier bags (Treatment 4). The right hams were packaged in cotton stockinettes (Treatment 2). Precuring data, ham dimensions, and quality scores were assigned to each ham in Phase II. Raw samples from the butt face were used for chemical analysis in the Phase II hams. The pH range of the fresh ham chemical analysis used in Phase II was 5.90 to 6.0, titratable acidity ranged from 0.099 to 0.0997, protein from 19.04 to 20.29, ash 0.71 to 1.32, fat 12.64 to 16.37, and moisture 62.56 to 64.4. The water-soluble alpha amino compound ranged from 1.36 to 2.18 mg of glycine equivalents/10 grams, and water soluble carbohydrate content 0.255 to 0.457 glucose equivalent/10 g of ham. No significant differences were found in the chemical characteristics of the fresh hams. In the cured hams in Phase II, no significant differences were found among the treatment for changes of pH, titratable acidity, percent ash, or in the contents of the alpha-amino compounds or carbohydrates. During curing and aging, the pH of all hams increased 0.11 to 0.15 units, the titratable acidity increased 0.058 to 0.068 meq H+/g; the alpha-amino compound content increased 18.87 to 22.10 mg glycine equivalent, and the content of water soluble carbohydrates increased 0.079 to 0.374 mg glucose equivalent/10 g ham. The water activity was not measured on the control group (Treatment 2). Cooking losses for the 6-month study ranged from 18.75 to 22.65%. Hams in Treatment 2 had the greatest shrinkage during aging (3.04%). The shrinkage in Treatments 1, 3, and 4 was negligible. In the sensory attributes of the 6-month cured hams, the most significant finding was the lack of significant difference among the treatments. The hams aged in the new packaging methods were just as tender, juicy and acceptable as hams aged in the traditional manner (stockinettes) used in the present country ham industry.

Download
Files over 3MB may be slow to open. For best results, right-click and select "save as..."

Share

COinS