Abstract
The “Hygiene Management Manual of Mass Cooking Facilities“ states that meat should be heated for at least one minute after reaching 75°C. However, overheating results in decreased cooking quality with oven-cooked foods. We investigated the possibility of using remaining heat to achieve the required heating time without affecting the quality of the cooked dish. Experiments were conducted on oven-cooked food by using cylindrical pork samples 50 mm in diameter and 15 mm thick. At an oven temperature setting of 270°C, heating for one minute after the internal temperature of the meat had reached 70°C enabled the internal temperature to be maintained at 75°C for 1 min from remaining heat. Heating these pork samples for 1 min after reaching 75°C by using remaining heat resulted in a significantly lower weight loss, lower breaking stress and greater tenderness. These findings indicate that using the residual heat was an effective way of maintaining the temperature at 75°C for 1 min when heating meat in an oven, depending on the temperature setting and weight of the meat.
