Abstract The objective of this work was to investigate the application of microwave vacuum drying (MWVD) as a fast drying method to produce salted-and-dried beef cuts. Moreover, aiming to reduce the sodium content in the meat product, the partial replacement of NaCl by KCl during the salting stage was also investigated. To this end, beef cuts were salted by immersion in one of three saline solutions before drying: Solution A- 100% NaCl; Solution B- 75% NaCl and 25% KCl; and (iii) Solution C- 50% NaCl and 50% KCl. The proposed MWVD method was compared with convective drying (CD) and vacuum drying (VD) in terms of drying kinetics as well as physicochemical and mechanical properties of obtained samples. The average drying times for the samples to reach water activity of 0.7 was more than 40 h for CD, 36 h for VD, and 0.45 h for MWVD. The salting with different solutions had no influence in these times. Moreover, the MWVD samples presented higher values of porosity and rehydration capacity. Thus, the results presented in this study have technological importance for the design of new industrial technologies to produce salted-and-dried meat, as charque and jerked beef, with lower sodium content.

Abstract The objective of this research was to evaluate the ability and efficiency of different software tools for the deconvolution of DSC thermograms of protein denaturation in salted beef. The salted samples were obtained by immersing beef pieces in NaCl solutions with concentrations of 20, 50, 100 and 330 g NaCl L-1 of water for 48 hours at 10 °C. The raw beef were used as control samples. Three software tools were considered: (i) Pyris7, (ii) OriginPro v.8, and (iii) Solver tool from MS-Excel. These computer programs were used for estimating the thermal denaturation temperature of myosin, sarcoplasmic proteins, and actin, as well as the value of denaturation enthalpy of these proteins. Based on the results obtained, we concluded that the model developed and programmed in MS-Excel showed better agreement with the data found in literature than the results obtained with the Pyris and OriginPro tools.

A Hovenia dulcis, mais conhecida como uva-do-japão, pertence à família Rhamnaceae, é natural da China, Japão e Coréia, sendo largamente difundida no sul do Brasil. Rica em açúcares e bem aceita para consumo humano, pode ser consumida in natura ou processada. Não há na literatura relatos de seu aproveitamento em produtos alimentícios. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo determinar a composição centesimal do fruto, do extrato concentrado e da farinha. Foram obtidos teores em torno de 54,08, 52,44 e 19,08g 100g-1 para umidade; 2,16, 4,09 e 4,48g 100g-1 para cinzas; 3,74, 2,77 e 5,73g 100g-1 para proteína bruta; 1,42, 0,37 e 1,82g 100g-1 para extrato etéreo; 12,56, 3,33 e 25,62g 100g-1 para fibra alimentar; 19,46, 37,34 e 42,53g 100g-1 para açúcares totais, além do valor calórico de 105,56, 165,14 e 216,09kcal 100g-1, respectivamente, em fruto, extrato concentrado e farinha. A quantificação por cromatografia líquida confirmou o conteúdo dos açúcares redutores (frutose, 6,15g 100g-1 e glicose, 6,57g 100g-1) superior ao teor de açúcares não redutores no fruto (sacarose, 3,56g 100g-1). A farinha é rica em açúcares e possui elevado teor de fibra alimentar, podendo ser utilizada como um ingrediente alternativo em produtos de panificação. Em termos sensoriais, o extrato concentrado obteve um índice de aceitabilidade de 82% entre os julgadores, apresentando bom potencial para elaboração de geleias.

Hovenia dulcis, whose popular name is Japanese grape, belongs to the family Rhamnaceae, native of China, Japan and Korea, is widely distributed in southern Brazil. Rich in sugar and with good acceptance for human consumption it can be consumed fresh or processed. There are no literature reports of its use in food products. The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition of the Japanese grape fruit, concentrated extract and flour. The contents for moisture (54.08, 52.44 e 19.08g 100g-1), ash (2.16, 4.09 e 4.48g 100g-1), protein (3.74, 2.77 e 5.73g 100g-1), ethereal extract (1.42, 0.37 e 1.82g 100g-1), dietary fiber (12.56, 3.33 and 25.62g 100g-1) and total sugars (19.46, 37.34 and 42.53g 100g-1) were obtained for the fruit, concentrated extract and flour, respectively. Quantification by liquid chromatography confirmed that the content of reducing sugars (fructose, 6.15g 100g-1 and glucose, 6.57g 100g-1) is higher than the non-reducing sugars content in fruit (sucrose, 3.56g 100g-1). Calories resulted in values of 105.56, 165.14 and 216.09kcal 100g-1 for fruit, concentrated extract and flour, respectively. The flour is rich in sugars and has a high content of dietary fiber being able to be used as an alternative ingredient in bakery products. Sensory analysis of the concentrated extract revealed an acceptability rate of 82% among the judges, showing good potential for jams' production.