Study On Low-Sodium Content Brine Of Cooked Ham

Cooked ham is made of lean meat from the hind limb of pork. It is a high quality meat product obtained by the processes of brine injection, tenderization, tumbling, filling into the mold, cooking and cooling. Cooked ham has the advantages of low fat content, delicate texture, uniform bright color and fresh flavor. In recent years, with the increasing demand for meat, meat products has also become an important source of sodium in the diet, while sodium chloride (NaCl) is the most important existing form of sodium salt. Sodium chloride plays not only an important role of ensuring human’s normal physiological functions, but also in meat processing. However a large number of studies have shown that excessive intake of sodium will bring a negative impact on human health. As a result, low-sodium meat products become the new hot spot.This study, in the first place, investigated4brands11kinds of sliced cooked ham products in Nanjing, determined their sodium chloride content, total sodium content and some other indicators, assessed their sensory quality by the establishment of cooked ham sensory evaluation methods. In the second place, this research used respectively potassium chloride (KCl), calcium lactate (CaL) and Transglutaminase (TG) as partial salt substitutes in cooked ham, determined the best substitution ratio for each of the alternatives. Finally, three kinds of substitutes were added together into cooked ham, the best composition was obtained by a three factors-three levels orthogonal test. Specific research contents and results are as follows:1. Investigation of sliced cooked ham in NanjingThis part has determined pH, moisture content, sodium chloride, total sodium content, color and shear force of the11kinds of sliced cooked ham. The results showed that the sodium chloride content is in the range of1.72%-2.40%and the total sodium content is in the range of864.26mg/100g～1262.29mg/100g. Contrast to similar foreign low-salt products, the salt content in our product can still be reduced. Sensory evaluation method for cooked ham was established in order to assess the11kinds of sliced cooked ham by the attributes of color, odor, taste, salinity, hardness, elasticity and chewiness. By correlation analysis, this study suggests that multisensory-integration mechanism might be applied to cooked ham. This means that changing the product texture, taste and color may enhance the perception of salty, thus salt content can be reduced.2. Effect of potassium chloride, calcium lactate, Transglutaminase as partial sodium chloride substitute on the quality of cooked hamKC1, CaL and TG were used respectively as partial substitutes of sodium chloride in cooked ham. Products’ mechanical and sensory indicators were analyzed. The results showed:for KCl, substitution ratio of30%according to mass based on2%total NaCl conducts the optimal product; for CaL substitution ratio of10%according to mass based on2%total NaCl conducts the optimal product; for TG, substitution ratio of12%according to mass based on2%total NaCl conducts the optimal product. KCI (A), CaL (B) and TG (C) were employed together to replace part of sodium chloride in cooked ham, by orthogonal test the best combination A2B3C1(25.5%KCI,9%CaL and6.5%TG) was obtained. This reduces the sodium chloride content from2%to1.24%and achieves the purpose of this study.