Food product and process for retaining moisture in cooked food

Abstract

A meat or fish composition which retains moisture during cooking is provided. A dry protein mixture or an aqueous acidic protein solution derived from animal muscle tissue is added to the meat or fish prior to cooking. The dry protein mixture and aqueous acidic protein solution comprise myofibrillar proteins and sarcoplasmic proteins substantially free of myofibrils and sarcomeres.

Description

[0001] References to related applications

[0002] This application is a continuation-in-part of Application Serial No. 10 / 252,873, filed September 24, 2002. Background technique

[0003] The present invention relates to methods of retaining liquid in cooked food. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of using animal muscle protein to retain moisture in a food, and to a food for use in said method.

[0004] Prior to the present invention, meat or fish cooked at higher temperatures lost moisture to the surrounding environment. This causes the cooked meat or fish to undesirably lose its natural or added aroma, thus making it less flavorful. Liquid loss when cooking meat or fish can amount to 30% to 40% of the weight of the meat or fish before cooking. A previous additive-free solution to retaining moisture in meat or fish has been to wrap the meat or fish in a solid moisture barrier, such as aluminum foil. This solution is undesirable because the meat or fish ...