The eating quality of meat: IV—Water holding capacity and juiciness

Water-holding capacity (WHC) of meat and meat products determines the visual acceptability, weight loss, and cook yield as well as sensory traits upon consumption. WHC is defined, and the muscle structure and protein influences on WHC of raw, cooked, and processed meat are described. The influence of postmortem pH fall, pale, soft, and exudative (PSE), and dark, firm, dry (DFD), aging, electrical stimulation, vacuum packing, freezing, and thawing on WHC are explained. The changes in structure as a result of cooking and also processing are presented as well as the influence of high-pressure processing, salting pre- and post-rigor, ionic strength, phosphates, and marination. Finally, methods for measuring WHC are defined, and a summary and conclusions are given.