Quality characteristics of cold-dried beef slices

In this study, salted and pasteurized beef slices were dried to approximately 40% water content at different low temperatures (10, 15 and 20 degrees C) and air flow rates (1, 2, 3 and 4 m/s) and the quality characteristics of the cold-dried beef slices were investigated. The TSARS values of cold-dried slices increased from 42.01 to 54.54 mu mol MDA/kg with the increase in drying temperature and from 27.29 to 67.79 mu mol MDA/kg with the increase in air flow rate indicating that low temperature and low air flow rate can help to avoid the lipid oxidation. Low drying temperature was also found to impact on the color of cold-dried slices. Additionally, it was determined that the microbiological quality of cold-dried slices decreased as the temperature increased from 10 to 20 degrees C and air flow rate increased from 1 to 4 m/s. Finally, the slices dried at 10 degrees C and 3 m/s had higher sensorial property scores. Consequently, low drying temperature and high air flow rate could enhance the quality of dried beef slices.