2.5. Water-holding capacity
On day 4 post-enhancement, water-holding capacity
of muscle samples was performed using the method set
forth by Wierbicki and Deatherage (1958). Briefly,
500 mg of muscle tissue was weighed onto No. 1 Whatman
filter paper that was stored in a desiccator over saturated
potassium chloride. The sample was then pressed
at 345 N/cm2 (500 psi) for 1 min and the area of the
meat film and the moisture area were traced, then recorded
using a compensating planimeter (Planix 8, Sokkia
Corp., Overland Park, KS, USA). An additional
piece of muscle tissue (5 g) from each sample was utilized
for percent moisture determination, and subsequent
total moisture (sample weight · percent
moisture). All samples were run in duplicate. Percent
free water was then calculated by the following
equation:
Percent free water ¼ ðððmoisture surface area
meat surface areaÞ
61:1Þ=total moistureÞ 100