Effect of Cooling Methods on Cooling Efficiency and Product Quality of Large Cooked Beef Products

In this study, four cooling methods, i.e., vacuum cooling, water immersion, air-blast and cold-room cooling were investigated to compare their effects on cooling efficiency and product quality. The overall mean results indicate that vacuum cooling is a very rapid and efficient means of cooling large cooked beef products. Vacuum cooling is over 800% quicker in terms of cooling times than the other cooling methods. However mass losses are higher (8-11%) than the other methods (2-3%). Sensory analysis indicated that overall acceptability of the samples was not affected by cooling treatment. Instrumental analysis showed that vacuum cooled samples had a tougher texture and a darker colour, but sensory panellists did not find vacuum cooled sample texture significantly different to others and the panellists preferred the darker colour of vacuum cooled samples.