Effects of Low Voltage Electrostatic Field Combined with Low Temperature and High Humidity Thawing on Beef Tenderness and Water Retention

To investigate the effects of a low-pressure electrostatic field combined with low temperature and high humidity on beef tenderness, this study utilized bovine longissimus dorsi muscle as the experimental material. The analysis included low-pressure electrostatic field thawing (at a temperature of 4 ℃ and relative humidity of 50%), low temperature and high humidity thawing (at a temperature of 4 ℃ and relative humidity of 98%), low-pressure electrostatic field combined with low temperature and high humidity thawing (temperature 4 ℃ and relative humidity 98%), and low temperature thawing (temperature 4 ℃ and relative humidity 50%). The parameters examined encompassed shear force, texture, water distribution, water content, water holding capacity, and sensory evaluation of frozen beef. The findings revealed that low-voltage electrostatic field combined with low-temperature and high-humidity thawing exhibited the shortest thawing time (804 min) compared to the other three thawing methods. The thawing loss (2.06%), cooking loss (26.09%), and centrifugation loss (15.00%) were significantly lower than the other three thawing methods (P<0.05). The shear force values for vertical muscle fibers (95.46 N) and parallel muscle fibers (41.69 N) were the lowest, while water content (68.31%) was the highest, indicating superior tenderness quality. Sensory evaluation results indicated that the tissue state, odor, elasticity, and color of meat samples thawed by low-voltage electrostatic field combined with low temperature and high humidity were superior to those of other thawing methods, with the overall acceptability being the highest.