Technological properties of pork thawed in the atmospheric air or in the microwave oven as determined during a six-month deep-freeze storage

摘要

The study aimed at determining the effect of the deep-freeze storage time (two weeks, three months and six months) and thawing method on weight loss and the physicochemical properties of pork. Thawing in a microwave oven was compared with the traditional method of thawing in the atmospheric air. After two weeks of deep-freeze storage, the weight losses in longissimus lumborum muscle samples thawed in a microwave oven were found significantly lower than those observed in samples thawed in the atmospheric air. Weight losses increased during prolonged deep-freeze storage, but after six months the differences between samples thawed in a microwave oven and in the air became less pronounced. Changes in the technological properties of pork were found related to the duration of deep-freeze storage. With no reference to thawing method, deep-freezed pork stored for two weeks was darker in colour than that stored for six months.