Comparative analysis of quality uniformity of ohmic and water bath heating treated pork batter with different fat content

The effects associated with fat content (0% to 40%) of pork batter and the positions (center and surface) on both ohmic heating (OH) and water bath heating (WB) treated samples, were investigated. The OH achieved a more uniform temperature distribution in pork batter as compared to WB- and OH-treated samples showed lower cooking loss values for all samples tested. Besides, the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values showed a tendency to increase as fat content increased for both treatments. The lipid oxidation showed a positive correlation with the carbonyl content and a negative correlation with the total sulfhydryl groups. The differences of lipids and protein oxidation between the center and surface of OH-treated samples were less than WB-treated ones. The higher fat content showed a favorable protective effect on Escherichia coli O157:H7 by both OH and WB treatments, however, the protective role of fat was more noticeable for OH treatment. Practical applications The ohmic heating (OH) principle is based on electric current passing through the food, the resistance of the food will generate heat in food. The efficiency of OH depends on the electrical conductivity of food. Fat, one of the primary constituents of meat, the presence of fat into the meat has a noticeable effect on the electrical conductivity, cooking loss, lipid and protein oxidation, and inactivation of microorganism. Therefore, the effects of fat content on the electrical, nutritional, and microbiological parameters of OH-treated pork batter at the central and surface position were investigated. The results of this study suggested that OH is suitable for meat processing.