STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF BEEF AND HAM DURING THE COOKING PROCESS AND STORAGE TEMPERATURE

Objetive: To determine the structural changes on the pork ham by effect of the cooking process and the temperature of storing. Materials and methods. Six treatments were made, in those three internal temperatures were used (72, 75 and 78°C), and one storing temperatures 4°C. Additionally another treatment was done and called as “absolute treatment”, cooked until it reached an internal temperature of 75°C without retain cooking time and with a storing temperature of 0°C. In each treatment some changes were observed in the structure of the muscle tissue on the days 0, 26, and 42. The observations were established by an optic microscope. The data obtained in this study was analyzed by analysis of variance of a single via test. Results. The results showed that the pork ham cooked at a temperature of 75°C and retain time of 5 minutes were more effective to diminish the negative effect of the separation and loss of the structural integrity on the myofibers and the structure of the collagen. Conclusions. The treatment improved performance presented at the microscopic was prepared at 75 °C and 5 minutes of cooking restraint, where the collagen fibers of the connective tissue maintain a more orderly architecture along with the muscle fiber over time.