The main problems observed in cooked hams are bad sliceability and excessive fluid loss after cooking. To reduce these problems the industry uses non-meat ingredients such as soy protein and carrageenan, but under Brazilian law, it is not allowed to add starch or modified starch in hams. Three ingredients were tested in the present research: modified starch (0 to 2.0%), gum guar (0 to 0.30%) and hydrolyzed collagen (0 to 2.0%), following a 2³ full factorial design with five repetitions in the central point. The guar gum produced low resistance to reheating, however in losses by cooling, the results were adequate. The hydrolyzed collagen tested did not give satisfactory results, showing low acceptance due to formation of gel in the ham and high losses. The developed products were not different from the commercial product in relation to texture (P>0.05). The formulation F6 (2.0% of modified starch) was the one with the best results and greater acceptance as detected by the tasters. Based on the results obtained it seems appropriate to propose the legal permission of starch in ham or the creation of a new class of product in which starch addition would be allowed.
texture; factorial design; non-meat ingredients
