title: Freeze-thaw and cooking effects on broiler breast fillets with extreme initial L* values.
abstract: Five hundred broiler males were grown to 56 d and processed under common terms. Front halves were deboned 24 h postmortem to obtain breast fillets, and CIELAB light reflectance was measured on the skin side of each fillet 24 h later. All fillets were bagged and frozen (-20 degrees C) for 5 mo. Then the fillets exhibiting the lowest (dark), median (normal), and highest (pale) L* values 48 h postmortem were thawed (3 d at 4 degrees C) and cooked (internal temperature 80 degrees C). Thawing reduced the L* value in the pale fillets and increased it in the dark ones, and cooking further increased L* value and reduced the differences in L*, a*, and b* between groups. Thawing and cooking losses were not affected by initial L* value until they were combined. Total losses increased with initial L*, which was in parallel with a lower increase in thickness after cooking.
authors.affiliation: Poultry Science Department, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galobart
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Moran
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D003116:Color; D003296:Cooking; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D019649:Food Industry; D005524:Food Technology; D005615:Freezing; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000737:chemistry; D011786:Quality Control