Avaliação da absorção de salmoura em peças destinadas à obtenção do presunto cozido

Abstract

Brazil is the 4th largest producer of pork and having preferential domestic consumption of processed products, and cooked ham is one of these products. One of the processing steps is the injection of brine. In this stage, the absorption of brine evaluated in sections of the leg in different conditions. The absorption of brine over a productive day evaluated in the different cuts of the shank and the distinct absorption for each cut verified. A test performed by adding ice in the brine preparation to check for interference on absorption, it was found that there was a reduction in absorption by meat cuts. The influence of the velocity on the absorption evaluated, the results showed that the greater absorption occurred for smaller velocities in the injector belt. It was verified the importance of the hygiene and maintenance of the equipment, for a standardization in the percentage of absorption in the different cuts of the ham. It is concluded that if maintenance and hygiene are performed periodically, the absorption percentages will be better standardized