Abstract
To determine the effect of the bones on the palatability of the cooked chicken meat, we steam-cooked the meat and investigated the merits of cooking with bones.
The results are as follows :
1) Cooking rate of the chicken meat with bones was more slow at a lower temperature than that without bones.
2) The firmness determined with the texturometer is as follows : the meat with bones was significantly soft, which coincided with the results of the sensory test. The meat without bones heated in the same conditions as that with bones showed no difference in firmness.
3) In determination of the residual weight, the meat with bones proved to be juicy and tasty, but there was no evident difference in “Umami.”
4) In the microscopic observation, the gaps between the muscle cells of the meat with bones was wider, which suggests its relation with firmness.
In conclusion, the chicken meat is better cooked with bones, and an attention should be paid to the internal temperature at the final stage of cooking and the heating rate when it is cooked without bones.
