Influence of far-infrared and superheated steam cooking on chicken breast meat | |
| Author | Mano Suwannakam |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.FB-18-01 |
| Subject(s) | Steaming (Cooking) Infrared spectroscopy |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Engineering in Food Engineering and Bioprocess Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The main objective of this experimental research was to assess the possible use of a hybrid system of far-infrared (FIR) and superheated steam (SS) in the cooking process of chicken breast meat products. The infrared heating offers the advantages of high thermal efficiency, fast heating rates, shorter response time, uniform temperatures, better process control and cleaner working environment. Meanwhile, the benefits of superheated steam use include the increased product yield with lesser cooking loss, increased heat flux, shorter cooking time, improved the tenderness and less paleness. The experimental setup started with the design, fabrication and performance evaluation of a laboratory-scale oven whose modes of operation include the forced hot air and superheated steam (HA-SS), the far-infrared and superheated steam (FIR-SS) and the far-infrared and superheated steam with forced air (FIR-SS-FA).Initially, the experiments were carried out using an oven prototype under the three operational schemes with chicken breast meat samples to determine the optimal oven temperature and air humidity. In the experiment, the oven temperatures and air humidity were varied between 130, 150 and 170°C; and between 0.28, 0.55 and 1.40 kgw/kgda, respectively. The cooked chicken breast meats were evaluated with regard to the full cooking time, product yield, color, tenderness, total protein and total fat. Next, further experiments were carried out using various sizes of chicken breast meat of equal sample weight and volume(i.e. 2!2!2and1!2!4cm3, 3!3!3and1.5!!3!6cm3, 4!4!4and2!4!8cm3), cooked under the optimal oven condition obtained in the initial stage with a fixed distance between the FIR heater surfaces (10 cm). The distances between the FIR heater surfaces were varied to6, 10 and 14 cm and the experiments were carried out using the chicken breast meat samples of 2!2!2, 3!3!3 and 4!4!4cm3. The cooked meats were evaluated in terms of the full cooking time, product yield, color, tenderness and water holding capacity. Moreover, total plate counts of raw and cooked meat were evaluated for the safety concerns in regard to fulfill the criterion of microbial contamination to the final products. The results indicated that the highest average product yield achieved given the 10-cm distance between the FIR heater surfaces under all cooking conditions for all experimental chicken sample sizes. Meanwhile, the residual protein and total fat were slightly lower than the initial total protein and fat (uncooked chicken breast meat) under all cooking conditions of the three cooking schemes. The highest residual protein was 22.14 g/100g, as evidenced under the 150°C, 1.40 kgw/kgda cooking condition for the FIR-SS vis-à-vis the total protein of raw chicken breast meat of 22.31g/100g.The lowest total fat presented 1.41g/100g, as evidenced under the 170°C, 1.40 kgw/kgda cooking condition for both FIR-SS and FIR-SS-FA. By comparison, the FIR-SS-FA cooking scheme, given the 6-cm distance between the FIR heater surfaces and the 170°C and 1.40 kgw/kgda cooking condition, was most ideal with regard to the full cooking time, product yield, microorganisms quality, energy consumption and specific energy consumption. Owing to its energy efficiency, enhanced product yield and conformance to the cooked-product quality standards, the innovative FIR-SS-FA cooking technology holds a great operational and economic potential for application in the chicken meat processing industry. |
| Year | 2018 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Food Engineering and Bioprocess Technology (FB) |
| Chairperson(s) | Anal, Anil Kumar; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Mishra, Pradeep Kumar;Loc Thai Nguyen;Salam, P. Abdul; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | National Science and Technology Department Agency (NSTDA), Thailand; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2018 |