Raman Spectroscopic Evaluation of Meat Batter Structural Changes Induced by Thermal Treatment and Salt Addition

Raman spectroscopy, texture, proximate composition, and water binding analysis were carried out to evaluate the effect of thermal treatment and/or salt addition to meat batter. For this purpose, different meat batters were elaborated: control meat batter (no salt) and meat batters with low (1.0%) and high (2.5%) NaCl content with and without thermal treatment (70 °C/30 min). Increase (P < 0.05) in penetration force and hardness upon heating was observed. Results also showed hardness increasing (P < 0.05) as a function of salt addition in heated meat batter. Raman spectroscopy analysis revealed a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in α-helix content accompanied by an increase (P < 0.05) in β-sheets resulting from heating. Significant (P < 0.05) correlations were found between these secondary structural changes in meat proteins and water binding and textural properties of meat batter. In this way, a significant correlation was found between β-sheets, salt content, hardness, and chewiness in heated samples.