Bo Hou

Improving the water-holding capacity (WHC) during the processing of rabbit meat can effectively enhance the texture of the final product, but it remains a practical challenge. This study aims to develop an ultrasound-assisted curdlan curing strategy to reduce the water loss of rabbit meat during the processing. Herein, the water retention performance, myofibrillar protein (MP) structure, and processing adaptability of rabbit meat as affected by the ultrasound-assisted curdlan curing treatment were investigated. Compared with the control group, ultrasound-assisted curdlan treatment increased WHC by 14.0% and reduced cooking loss by 15.4%. Moreover, this combined treatment showed significantly higher WHC and lower cooking loss than curdlan or ultrasound treatment alone (p < 0.05). Moreover, the ultrasound-assisted curdlan curing resulted in higher ultraviolet absorption and fluorescence intensity of myofibrillar proteins (MPs) in rabbit meat, but the intensity of the main protein band observed in SDS-PAGE was lower. Furthermore, the rabbit meat treated with the ultrasound-assisted curdlan curing maintains the highest water content (75.2% for steaming, 74.7% for boiling, 74.4% for microwaving, 70.1% for roasting, and 71.8% for air-frying) under various thermal processing methods. Therefore, the ultrasound-assisted curdlan curing offers a feasible route to improve water retention in rabbit meat, providing an applicable basis for reducing water loss in meat production.

Low-temperature storage has become the most common way for fresh meat storage because of its lower cost and better preservation effect. Traditional low-temperature preservation includes frozen storage and refrigeration storage. The refrigeration storage has a good fresh-keeping effect, but the shelf life is short. Frozen storage has a long shelf life, but it has a great impact on the quality of meat structure and other qualities, and cannot achieve a complete “fresh-keeping” effect. With the development of food processing storage and freezing technology, two new storage methods, ice temperature storage and micro-frozen storage, have attracted more attention. In this paper, the effects of different low-temperature storage methods on the sensory, physicochemical properties, myofibrillar protein oxidation, microstructure, and processing characteristics of fresh beef were studied. The optimal storage methods under different storage requirements were analyzed to reveal the mechanism and efficacy of ice temperature storage and micro-frozen storage technology, as well as the advantages compared with traditional low-temperature refrigeration. It has practical significance for guiding the application of low-temperature storage of fresh meat. Finally, this study concluded that the longest shelf life could be achieved by frozen storage, and the best preservation effect was achieved during the shelf life of ice temperature storage, and the effect of micro-frozen storage on the myofibrillar protein oxidation and microstructure was the best.