Population aging, which affects virtually every country in the world, involves growth in the number and proportion of older people in the population. The aim of this study was to develop a marinated pork stew packed in a retort pouch that provided food properties suitable for the elderly. Pork loin was treated with different alkaline solution marinades including 5% sodium chloride (M-SC), 5% sodium bicarbonate (M-SBC) or 5% sodium tripolyphosphate (M-STPP) and compared with the control (non-marinated pork). The marinated pork increased pH, cooking yield, redness (a* value) and color difference (DE*), while decreased cooking loss, lightness (L* value), yellowness (b* value) and enhanced texture properties of pork. M-SBC gave significantly (p≤0.05) the lowest cooking loss and lightness as well as hardness and shear force value. Therefore, M-SBC was selected to develop marinated pork stew through thermal processing by retort technology to produce convenient food for the elderly. The products after sterilizing could be stored at normal temperature and had longer shelf life. The F0 value of 6.0 was found to be adequate for marinated pork stew. After thermal processing, the L* and b* values of stew color significantly increased (p≤0.05) whilst the a* value of stew color significantly decreased (p≤0.05). The texture of the marinated pork improved as indicated by decrease in hardness, cohesiveness, chewiness, and shear force value. Nevertheless, the protein content of marinated pork stew significantly (p≤0.05) increased after thermal processing. The final marinated pork stew product was evaluated by the elderly folks and accepted with a moderate liking score.
Keywords: marination; pork stew; retort pouch; the elderly
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