Effect of tumbling time and cooking temperature on quality attributes of cooked ham

This study evaluates effect of tumbling time and cooking temperature on cooking rate, cooking loss (CL), colour, water activity and water-holding capacity of cooked restructured ham rolls. In experiment were investigated three tumbling times (2, 4 and 6 h) at constant temperature (+4 degrees C) and three cooking temperatures (76, 86 and 96 degrees C). It was observed that CL decreased (P < 0.01) from 5.41% to 3.22% with tumbling time (2 h vs. 6 h) but increased (P < 0.01) from 2.35% to 7.25% along with cooking temperature (76 degrees C vs. 96 degrees C). In contrast, pH value increased (P < 0.01) from 6.18 to 6.24 with tumbling time (2 h vs. 6 h) but decreased (P < 0.01) from 6.22 to 6.17 along with cooking temperature (76 degrees C vs. 96 degrees C). In addition, high temperature had higher efficiency for thermal lethality than low temperature (F(0) values were 19 and 92 min at 96 and 76 degrees C, respectively). Intermediate tumbling (4 h) and cooking (86 degrees C) could be preferential.