Date of Award:

5-1963

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences

Department name when degree awarded

Food and Nutrition

Committee Chair(s)

Margaret B. Merkley

Committee

Margaret B. Merkley

Committee

Phyllis Snow

Committee

Ethelwyn B. Wilcox

Abstract

Broiling is cooking tender cuts of meat by radiant heat from hot coals, a gas flame, or an electric element. Steaks and chops for broiling are from 1 to 2 inches thick.

Broiling as a method of cooking mat is not new, but the directions for the process are the result of individual trial and error testing and are often in conflict. Current interest in indoor and outdoor broiling, particularly in Western United States, emphasizes the need for better information. There is no measuring device for surface heat during broiling and thus little research on the relationship of surface temperature, degree of doneness and cooking time. Little has been done to investigate the effect of a change in rate of heat transfer on the physical and chemical reactions which occur during broiling.

Although some work has been done on the effects of different cooking methods on weight losses, tenderness, palatability, and thiamine content of beef, no reports were found relating cut of meat, temperature at the surface of the mat, and degree of doneness to other factors during broiling.

The existing literature contained relatively little information on changes produced in broiled beef. Most of the data available were indefinite, lacking precise information regarding time and temperature. Timetables for broiling, like roasting, varied in directions given and frequently stated the time of cooking in minutes per pound. At best this can serve only as a poor guide because the amount of fat and bone present, the state of the meat, whether solid or ground, the amount of connective tissue present, and the thickness of the meat influence the rate of heat penetration.

This initial study was conducted on beef using charcoal as the source of heat, since the heat of the charcoal could be controlled at different temperatures. A high, medium and low temperature were used for cooking and the meat was cooked to three degrees of doneness (rare, medium and well-done).

In this research a potentiometer devised by Taylor Instrument Company to measure the temperature at the surfaces of the meat and internally was used. Thus it was possible to accurately measure the temperature.

An experimental model of a coil-type thermometer was also made by Taylor Instrument Company and its use offered, for the first time, the possibility of determining the temperature at the surface of the meat.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of surface temperature during broiling to stage of doneness and to cooking time on the following factors in broiled sirloin steaks: thiamine retention, soluble protein content, weight loss, moisture retention, changes in tenderness, juiciness and flavor. It was hoped that the findings might be of use in the development of a thermometer to be used for broiling much as oven and meat thermometers are used now for roasting meats. Also, an attempt was made to develop time-temperature charts for use in broiling.

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