Effects of Moisture Content on Quality Characteristics of Dry-Cured Ham during Storage

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of moisture content on microbiological stability and texture characteristic of dry-cured ham. The moisture content of dry-cured hams was adjusted to 35% (C) or 45% (T) and then vacuumpackaged after slicing to a 1 inch thickness. All packaged dry-cured hams were stored at 10 degrees C for 3 mon, and physicochemical analyses and a sensory evaluation were conducted to verify the quality of dry-cured hams during four different storage periods. Moisture content was significantly higher in T (44.89%) compared to that in C (35.03%). However, crude fat content was higher in C (14.08%) than that in T (11.11%). The pH, salinity, and shear force were higher in C than those in T, and dry-cured hams derived from C seemed to provide low lipid oxidation stability during storage. In contrast, T showed high CIE L*, CIE a* and CIE b*, and a(w) values when compared to dry-cured hams from C. Total plate counts and Lactobacillus tended to increase with the increase in storage period, and both were lower in T than those in C after 1 mon of storage. Our results indicate that 45% moisture content improved dry-cured ham quality as compared to that of dry-cured hams containing 35% moisture.