The liquid nitrogen-blended method generally yielded a higher percent TM when both the beef and pork samples were dried in the vacuum oven. This study is not concerned with water activity because it is lost during the drying process and its determination is not the experiments focus. Both free and bound water are important factors in many food problems. Generally, the higher the water the juicier the meat. A more specific way of defining water in muscle is as water-holding capacity.
Muscle contraction requires the presence of water.
Although they have different methodology, the relationships between WHC and juiciness and total moisture and juiciness are similar. The changes in the protein are conformational and by charge, both of which affect the loss of water. The cubes were frozen in liquid nitrogen to insure individuality in the defrosting process and to minimize the influence of freezing on the experiment. The same steps were repeated with the pork samples. The covered jars were placed in the walk-in at 3C for approximately twelve hours to complete thawing.