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Abstract
Procedures used to prepare and serve
beef loaves in hospital cools/child food system were simulated. Beef loaves
formulated from ground beef and eggs were cooked initially to an end point
temperature of 60°C
in a convection oven operating at 121 ± 10°C, stored 24 h at 5.6 ± 1°C, and portioned into 100 g slices. Each portion
was then heated to temperatures greater than or equal to 74° C in a microwave
oven. Findings from evaluating forty portions of beef loaf are as follows:
mean end point temperature of portions heated by microwave energy was 81.7 ±
6.8ºC; mean time to microwave heat beef loaf portions to temperatures greater
than or equal to 74° C was 46.1 ± 4.2; mean rate of microwave heating beef
loaf portions was 1.0°C/s/100 g and varied ± 0.1°C/s/100 g; mean yield of
beef loaf portions was 87.8 ± 4.8%. Development of a thermal monitor
(accurate ± 1.0°C)
for use in portioned foods during microwave heating is suggested. Insertion
of the thermal monitor into the portion should not alter the configuration of
the food.
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