Vacuum cooling in bulk of beef pieces of different sizes and shape – Evaluation and comparison to conventional cooling methods

The use of vacuum cooling (VC) to chill cooked beef dices, strips and mince in bulk (circa 1 kg samples) to core temperature below 4 °C was investigated. Cooling parameters and some product quality properties were evaluated and compared to those obtained after conventional cooling methods (air blast, cold room and plate cooling). Data on cooling time and profile, mass losses, nutritional content and physical properties (colour and instrumental shear force) were compared. For all studied shapes VC yielded the shortest cooling time. However, benefits of VC mechanisms on cooling time affected studied shapes differently. Diced beef VC time was markedly affected by beef inherent properties, and VC seemed to yield better results when applied to mince than to strips and dices. For all beef shapes studied VC led to higher weight losses (about 10%) than the other cooling methods. Dices and strips showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher protein and lower moisture contents after VC than after the other methods, while for minced beef a significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed only for protein content. Other compositional and quality properties results (salt and fat contents, colour and instrumental tenderness) for the three forms were similar among cooling methods.

► Vacuum cooling was applied to cool three forms of cooked beef pieces in bulk.
► Vacuum cooling was faster than the other treatments tested for all forms studied.
► The benefits of vacuum cooling mechanisms on time varied between the studied forms.
► Vacuum cooling time was significantly affected by beef inherent properties.
► Minced beef was the cooked beef form that benefited the most from vacuum cooling.