The relationship between water-holding capacity and cooked meat tenderness in some beef muscles as influenced by acidic conditions below the ultimate pH.

Previous studies have indicated the beneficial influence of higher than normal ultimate pH (pH(u)) on the tenderness of cooked meat. Such benefits have been indirectly linked to the influence of increased pH on the water-holding capacity (WHC) of meat above the iso-electric point (IEP) of the myofibrillar proteins. In the present study, relationships between WHC and the tenderness of some beef muscles were investigated under pH conditions within and below the IEP of the myofibrillar proteins, such that the maximum range of meat swelling was achieved. It was found that increased WHC, as measured by swelling ratio in both raw and cooked meat, markedly influenced cooked meat tenderness, irrespective of the connective tissue content of the muscles. The results fitted a series of exponential decay equations relating swelling ratio to cooked meat toughness. Additionally, strong linear decreases in toughness were apparent over the pH range 4·6 to 4·1 for the three muscle types studied.