Effect of ultrasound-assisted sodium bicarbonate treatment on gel characteristics and water migration of reduced-salt pork batters

• Ultrasound-assisted NaHCO 3 increased pH, SSP, cooking yield of reduced-salt batter. • Ultrasound-assisted NaHCO 3 improved the texture and microstructure of batters. • The mobility of water was reduced after treated with ultrasound-assisted NaHCO 3 . • Ultrasound-assisted NaHCO 3 enabled reduced-salt batters to have good gel properties. To study the potential usefulness of ultrasound (0, 30, and 60 min) and sodium bicarbonate (0% and 0.2%) combination on the reduced-salt pork batters, the changes in water holding capacity, gel properties, and microstructure were investigated. The pH, salt-soluble proteins solubility, cooking yield, and b* values of reduced-salt pork batters significantly increased ( P < 0.05) with the increase in ultrasound time and the addition of sodium bicarbonate, leading to the hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, and chewiness significantly increased ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, the use of ultrasound-assisted sodium bicarbonate treatment caused the reduced-salt pork batters to form a typical spongy structure with more evenly cavities. Due to the initial relaxation time of T 21 and T 22 were shorter, and the peak ratio of P 21 was increased and P 22 was decreased after ultrasound-assisted sodium bicarbonate treatment, implying that the mobility of water was reduced. Thus, the use of ultrasound-assisted sodium bicarbonate treatment enabled reduced-salt pork batters to have better gel characteristics and higher cooking yield.