Cryogenic and Conventional Freezing of Chicken

Abstract

Air blast, “Freon,” “Nitreon” and liquid nitrogen spray processes were employed in the freezing of chicken fryer halves. Drip loss, cooking loss, shear force, visual bone darkening measurements and sensory evaluations were made on halves after cooking. The pectoralis major muscle was used for shear measurement with a Warner-Bratzler tenderometer. Degree of bone darkening was scored by a sensory panel. Liquid nitrogen frozen halves had the least drip loss. Average cooking loss was highest for air blast frozen halves and lowest for non-frozen halves. Non-frozen halves showed lowest cooking loss, shear force values and bone darkening scores. Only minor differences between freezing methods were noted in shear values and bone darkening.