The effect of ultrasound-assisted freezing, metal plate assisted freezing and conventional freezing on the quality characteristics of beef samples

In this study, the effects of household refrigerator freezing (control group), ultrasound-assisted freezing at different power levels (40 %, 70 %, and 100 %) and metal plate assisted freezing on the quality characteristics of beef samples were investigated. While the freezing time decreased for the fillet samples with ultrasound-assisted freezing (40 % and 70 %, respectively) and for all samples with metal plate assisted freezing, the weight loss and cooking loss values generally decreased compared to control samples. The total color values of the ultrasound-assisted frozen samples were higher than those of the control samples, while the metal plate assisted frozen samples were lower than those of the control samples. The TBARS values were found to be lower in both methods compared to control samples. The hardness values of control samples were generally lower than the samples subjected to both methods after or before cooking. The protein denaturation temperatures of the metal plate-assisted frozen samples were generally higher than others. As a result, ultrasound and metal plate assisted freezing processes preserved the quality characteristics of beef and had significant effects on several quality characteristics of beef. The application of ultrasound at 40 % provides a significant advantage in terms of quality characteristics. The effects of conduction heat transfer with metal plate-assisted freezing processes also provides the positive impact on the freezing of beef samples. Thus, the use of innovative technologies during the freezing of food in household refrigerators were evaluated within the study which brings new idea to integrate them in the production of household refrigerators. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd and IIR