Meatballs are always loved by people because of their simple production process, delicious flavor and convenient eating. With the continuous improvement of people's living standards and health awareness, the requirements for food nutrition and quality are also constantly improved. The processing formula of meatballs is no longer simple raw meat and seasoning in the past, but various functional additives are added in a scientific proportion.
01 salt
The main component of salt is sodium chloride, and its addition in meatball processing is generally 1.5%-2%. In addition to its seasoning and antiseptic functions, salt can also extract salt-soluble protein from raw meat to promote its binding ability to water and fat, reduce the loss of free water during meat heating and increase the adhesion of products.
The research shows that the function of sodium chloride in the processing of meat emulsion products is to extract myofibrillar protein, promote the combination between meat particles and fat emulsification, improve the water retention of products, reduce the cooking loss of products, and thus improve the quality. When salt-soluble protein is extracted from muscle tissue, the proportion of fat in the product will decrease.
02 fat
Fat is an important part of meat, and its edible value lies in improving product texture and increasing product flavor. If there is no fat in meat products, the products will become hard and lose their original full flavor. The ratio of lean meat to fat in meatball raw materials has no direct influence on its quality. In a certain body phase, when the volume fraction of the phase is 0.26-0.74, O/W or W/O emulsion can be formed. It has been reported abroad that reducing fat content in chopped meat products will improve hardness and elasticity.
By studying the emulsion stability, color and texture of minced meat with different fat content, Chinese researchers found that with the decrease of fat content, the water retention of minced meat increased, the viscosity decreased, the emulsion stability decreased, the color decreased, the brightness value decreased and the red value increased. Scholars at home and abroad have determined that the best amount of fat added is 25% in the experiment of the influence of fat on minced meat.
03 water addition
From the research on the relationship between water addition and the quality trend of meatballs, it is concluded that when making meatballs, water is added to make starch fully absorb water and give full play to the gelatinization ability of starch. When the water addition is increased from 20% to 28%, the water absorption of starch gradually increases, which has a great influence on the gel structure of meatballs, and the quality of meatballs gradually improves. However, if the water addition continues to increase, there are redundant free water besides the water adsorbed by protein and starch.
In the study of the influence of water on the quality of low-fat emulsified meatballs, it was found that too high water content destroyed the state of meat texture, and reduced the water retention and protein content of raw materials. The addition of 20% water was more conducive to the formation of excellent quality of meatballs. Domestic scholars think that adding 28% water in meatball production is the most appropriate. According to the water content of raw meat, the addition amount is controlled. It has been proved by practice that the process is different in winter and summer, and the addition amount is also different.
04 starch
In recent years, modified starch has been widely used in meat products. The properties of modified starch are acid resistance, heat resistance, water absorption, adhesiveness and gelation. Adding starch to meat products can obviously improve the texture, slice, taste and juiciness of meat products, which are closely related to the quality of products.
In the study, it was found that adding corn starch in the production of meatballs can improve the yield, mainly because of the moisture retention and fat retention of starch. Domestic scholars found in the study on the effect of starch on the quality of muscle pills that the addition of starch at 6% can improve the taste and chewiness of the gel, and if the addition exceeds 8%, it can improve the adhesiveness and hardness of the product, but it will reduce the elasticity.
05 phosphate
Phosphate is widely used in meat processing as a functional additive to improve the water retention of meat products during cooking and increase the yield of meat products.
In the study of the effect of phosphate on the quality of meatballs, it was found that the addition of phosphate significantly reduced the cooking loss and fat loss of products, and increased the polymerization, elasticity and viscosity of meatballs. The results also show that adding polyphosphate in the production of chicken balls can reduce the cooking loss of chicken balls and improve the texture of products; Phosphate is widely used in meat processing to promote the water retention and yield of meat products. At the same time, it is also pointed out that the combined use of phosphate and salt has more obvious influence on cooking loss and fat loss of meat products. In the production practice of meatballs, it is found that the effect of mixed phosphate is better than that of single use, the general dosage is 0.2%-0.5%, and the maximum dosage of phosphate in GB2760 is 0.5%.
06 soybean protein
Plant protein can not only improve the nutritional value of products, but also play a positive role in improving the quality of meat products. In the production of meatballs, soybean protein shows excellent gelation state and viscosity in a certain temperature and pH environment, which is beneficial to improve the texture of meatball products.
It is found that soybean protein can obviously improve the cohesiveness and texture of raw materials in meatball processing, but it reduces the overall acceptability of products. In the study, it was found that the addition of soy protein isolate increased the protein content of meatball products. During the storage process of meatball products, especially for a long time, antioxidant phenols contained in soy protein isolate could inhibit fat oxidation, thus prolonging the shelf life of meatball products. According to the formula of meatball production, the amount of soybean protein added depends on the specific situation. Generally, the amount of soybean protein added into protein slurry is not more than 20%.
07 carrageenan
Carrageenan is a kind of polysaccharide extracted from natural materials, which can form a stable and uniform gel with protein. Carrageenan can keep 10-20 times of its own weight of water, and when added to raw meat, it shows full gelation and emulsification effects when heated, forming a huge network structure, keeping the water in the product, reducing the outflow of gravy, improving the yield, and making the product have good elasticity and toughness.At the same time, carrageenan can also inhibit the loss of salt-soluble protein and the dissolution of umami components, thus maintaining the flavor of the product. It is found in practice that the addition of carrageenan can also improve the overall texture of the product. Practice has proved that carrageenan can obviously improve the hardness, chewiness and adhesiveness of products. In the production of meatballs, the addition of carrageenan is generally 0.3%-0.6%.
08 baking soda
Baking soda mainly plays the role of alkaline leavening agent in meat products. The reason why baking soda can improve the quality of meatballs is mainly because sodium bicarbonate is an alkaline substance, which can corrode protein and relax muscle tissue, thus playing a tender role.In addition, its acid radical ions can make the protein deviate from the isoelectric point by changing the pH value of meat, increase the solubility of protein, improve the water holding capacity of meat, and also tenderize meat; Furthermore, the decomposition of sodium bicarbonate after heating can release CO, which can loosen the structure of meatballs, thus improving the elasticity and tenderness of meatballs and improving the taste of meatballs. However, due to its alkalinity, excessive addition will denature protein in meatballs, which will lead to the decline of meatball quality. In the production of meatballs, the addition of baking soda is generally 0.1%-0.5%.
summary
In actual production, the quality of meatballs is influenced by many factors, and there are some differences in the effects of different raw materials and formulas. Therefore, the best production technology needs to be determined according to specific conditions in actual production. This paper only expounds the influence of some main influencing factors on the quality, and the interaction and influence between these factors need further study. The specific application of these theories in the industrial production of meatballs needs continuous practice and improvement. For producers, while reducing product costs, we should pay more attention to quality assurance. To produce high-quality and safe products, so that consumers can eat with confidence and have fun is the foundation of enterprise's survival and competition.
