Texture Softening of Beef and Chicken by Enzyme Injection Process

This research focuses on a new softening technology for use with chicken breast and eye of round beef in order to assist elderly individuals who have difficulty with eating due to changes in their ability to chew (masticatory function) or swallow. We investigated the hardness of chicken breast and eye of round beef through use of a texture analyzer after injection of a commercial enzyme. Among 7 commercial enzymes, bromelain and collupulin exhibited a marked softening effect on the tested chicken breast and eye of round beef given a 1.00% enzyme concentration. The hardness of bromelain-treated chicken breast reached 1.4×10(4) N/m(2), of collupulin-treated chicken breast reached 3.0×10(4) N/m(2), and of bromelain-treated eye of round beef reached 3.2×10(4) N/m(2), respectively, while their original shapes did not change. To find the level of tissue degradation with specific enzyme concentrations, enzyme injections at 0.1%, 0.25%, 0.50%, and 1.00% concentration of bromelain and papain were also evaluated. The results of this research could be useful for softening chicken breast and eye of round beef and will contribute to the development of foods that can be more easily eaten as part of a balanced diet for elderly adults.