Meat blocks from walleye pollack were soaked in solutions containing 0.5-1.5M NaCl, 0.5-1.0M sorbitol. or their combinations with varied ratios for 24 hours at 4°C. After soaking, the cured meats were subjected to dehydration at 15°C. Changes in weight, NaCl and sorbitol concentrations of the meat, and myofibrillar Ca-ATPase activity together with crosslinking of myosin heavy chain of the same meat were investigated as a function of dehydration time.
The results were as follows: (1) The meats containing 0.40-0.70M NaCl, 0.37-1.02M sorbitol, or combinations of 0.38-1.68M NaCl and 0.34-0.85M sorbitol were subjected to the dehydration process. (2) The rates of reduction of the weight of cured meats agreed well with the increase in NaCl and sorbitol concentration of the same meats induced by the dehydration. (3) The rate of dehydration of the cured meats was not related to the rate of denaturation of myofibrillar protein of the same meats.
It is thus likely that the water retention ability of the meat is controlled by the concentration of NaCl and sorbitol, and their relative proportion in the meat, which was prepared by curing.
