## 2 Materials and Methods  
### Material  
In this study, commercially available pork cuts, sourced directly from a meat plant, were utilized. The DanBred pigs (_Sus scrofa domestica_) were born, raised, and slaughtered in Hungary, a member of the European Union. The pork was obtained from female animals aged 6-7 months, raised under industrial farm conditions in accordance with Central European standards. These conditions complied with the technological requirements for meat from domestic ungulates, as outlined in Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004, which established specific hygiene rules for foodstuffs. The meat underwent a 1-day cooling period between slaughter and deboning and cutting. The slaughter of livestock, along with the deboning, cutting, and vacuum-packing of meat, was conducted in an industrial slaughterhouse. The samples were taken from different livestock (from different 30 animals). The meat samples were treated and measured the day after being vacuum-packed, similar to the handling of commercially purchased meat. Two types of meat cuts, representing extreme levels of fat content--the fattiest and the leanest cuts--were selected for this study. These were the tenderloin and the collar, both of which can be prepared using the same cooking technique. For the experiment, 2 cm thick slices were cut from independent samples of both tenderloin and collar. Between the steps of vacuum-packing and cooking, the meat samples were stored in their packaging under refrigerated conditions at an average temperature of 3.2 \({}^{\circ}\)C. Prior to cooking, the samples were allowed to warm to room temperature. The surface of the meat reached 20 \({}^{\circ}\)C, while the core temperature remained at 14 \({}^{\circ}\)C before cooking. No seasoning or marination was applied to the meat, as this could have led to the release of exudates, potentially influencing cooking loss and water-holding capacity. Three different treatments were applied. In total, 30 samples (from 30 different animals) were taken from each meat cut, with 20 samples per treatment type for each cut. So, 30 tenderloin and 30 collar samples, meaning 60 samples in total were treated. Of these, they were divided into 20-20-20 samples, so 10-10-10 samples from both meat types were treated in different ways. The replicate samples were measured multiple times by different methods, and the average of the parallel measurements of each sample was taken as the measured value of a sample for the evaluation of the results. Thus, the degrees of freedom of the statistics presented reflect the number of parallel samples. In the case of colour measurements, the sample number is double the sample number presented for other measurements because two different sides of the samples were interpreted as different samples. The meat cuts were cooked in a combined steaming oven (Lainox VE051P, Type LX, Pozzo d'Adda, Italy) using the oven's metal tray, covered with aluminum foil, in convention mode at 200 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 40 min. Based on earlier empirical observations and after reviewing several standard recipes and conducting preliminary tests, a temperature-time combination of 200 \({}^{\circ}\)C for 40 min was determined to be optimal, considering the thickness of the slices and the specific types of meat used. Bark crusting was performed in a non-stick pan with sunflower oil. The initial pan temperature for crusting was 230 \({}^{\circ}\)C. Three types of treatments were applied. One-third of the samples from each meat cut underwent crust formation before cooking, one-third after cooking, and the remaining third were cooked without crust formation. For crusting before cooking, the collar was crusted for 5 min per side, while the tenderoin was crusted for 1.5 min on the bottom side and 1 min on the top side. For crusting after cooking, the collar was crusted for 1.5 min per side, while the tenderoin was crusted for 0.5 min per side. These time intervals were sufficient to achieve the desired crust.