High-pressure calorimetric evaluation of ice crystal ratio formed by rapid depressurization during pressure-shift freezing of water and pork muscle

The amount of ice nuclei formed during the pressure release is important for the final formation and development of ice crystals in pressure shift freezing (PSF) frozen products. In this study, a high-pressure (HP) calorimeter was used to evaluate the ratio of ice crystals instantaneously formed by rapid depressurization during PSF of pure water and pork muscle tissue. Experiments were carried out initial pressure levels of 62, 115, 157 and 199 MPa, with corresponding phase change temperatures of −5, −10, −15 and −20 °C, respectively (slightly higher than phase change point of water-ice I). The ice crystal ratio was determined based on calorimetric peak measured and heat balance. The evaluated regression relationship between observed ice crystal ratio (Rice in %) and pressure (P, MPa) was Rice-water = 0.115P + 0.00013P2 (R2 = 0.96, n = 9) for pure water, and Rice-pork = 0.080P + 0.00012P2 (R2 = 0.95, n = 11) for pork muscle. Compared to other methods, the calorimetric evaluation does not require any of the pressure-related properties of the test sample. HP calorimetry can thus be used to evaluate ice crystal ratio for PSF of foods even though their pressure related properties may be unknown.