MEAT‘AND MEAT—PRODUCTS
179
as other foods needing less critical conditions, is generally readin adapted to items of more
recent interest such as soft fruits, ice cream, and (with some improvisation) coffee extract.
In Europe and Great Britain, commercial interests predominated over military logistics,
for in these countries the retail markets were more ready to accept dehydrated foods of
improved quality particularly vegetables and cooked meats. Very often these can be
proceSsed without pre—freezing and at pressures exceeding l.O torr.
Originally, therefore, there was a di"erence between American designed and British
and European designed machinery for freeze—drying.
…
'
The American and Canadian equipment was generally evacuated through mechanical
pumps and refrigerated plates or coils and was the rst to use so called “radiant” heating 20.
The vacuum contact plate or accelerated freeze—driers developed in Denmark and Great
Britain 9, and the equipment from Germany which controls the temperature by barometric
measurement 13, frequently employed steam jet vacuum pumps and used various types
of contact heating.
The best features of these designs are incorporated in to-day’s industrial freeze-driers.
Continuous equipment is being designed specically for such products as diced chicken
_
meat. There is no reason why the actual drying operation should not take place under
optimum conditions as far as these are known.
_
THE MANUFACTURE AND CHARACTERISTÏCS
OF F REEZE—DRÏED RAW MEAT…
,
—
To obtain good quality steaks and chops, the requirement to slice at right angles to the
meat bres so as to ensure quick and uniform' rehydration was demonstrated at an early
stage of development 2. If this is not possible when,*forexample, the steaks are cut from
the beef round, it is necessary to put the pieces througha mechanical tenderizer once or
twice then freeze before drying.
-
The best muscle for freeze-drying is the loin which is trimmed and laid out at, moulded
carefully to a roughly circular cross section if necessary‘to t the nal container, and frozen.
The steaks and chops are then cut 1/2 to 5/8” thick on a band saw. This is important for
if the slices are cut by hand from the unfroze’n meat, the bres may be folded or blocked
at the surface by a gelatinous barrier and rehydration is hindered 24.
As we produce them in Canada, pork—choPs are prepared from regular packing house
hogs of a bacon type and the steaks from canner and cutter grade beef. This grade‘is mostly
cow beef and is the kind generally boned out by the meat packer for manufacturing,
canning and other processing operations.The better grades command a much higher price
in the retail and other fresh meat markets. Besides being economical to use, cutters and
canners grade is also lean and well avoured but it— is tough and the fat may be yellow.
For the beef to be acceptable, an enzymic tenderizer_must
be added to the water used
for rehydration and a separate packet
and salt in addition
to seasomngs
is provided With each container. The Contents of the packet are dissolved m cool or lukewarm water before immersing the meat for rehydration.
_
_
Little or no degree of tenderization—occurs duringthe rehydration m cool
water but
only during cooking… Thej right degree ; of tenderizatibn IS not always attarned. Sometrme
the meat remains to,o tough and other’timesbecomes too
_
.
…
179
as other foods needing less critical conditions, is generally readin adapted to items of more
recent interest such as soft fruits, ice cream, and (with some improvisation) coffee extract.
In Europe and Great Britain, commercial interests predominated over military logistics,
for in these countries the retail markets were more ready to accept dehydrated foods of
improved quality particularly vegetables and cooked meats. Very often these can be
proceSsed without pre—freezing and at pressures exceeding l.O torr.
Originally, therefore, there was a di"erence between American designed and British
and European designed machinery for freeze—drying.
…
'
The American and Canadian equipment was generally evacuated through mechanical
pumps and refrigerated plates or coils and was the rst to use so called “radiant” heating 20.
The vacuum contact plate or accelerated freeze—driers developed in Denmark and Great
Britain 9, and the equipment from Germany which controls the temperature by barometric
measurement 13, frequently employed steam jet vacuum pumps and used various types
of contact heating.
The best features of these designs are incorporated in to-day’s industrial freeze-driers.
Continuous equipment is being designed specically for such products as diced chicken
_
meat. There is no reason why the actual drying operation should not take place under
optimum conditions as far as these are known.
_
THE MANUFACTURE AND CHARACTERISTÏCS
OF F REEZE—DRÏED RAW MEAT…
,
—
To obtain good quality steaks and chops, the requirement to slice at right angles to the
meat bres so as to ensure quick and uniform' rehydration was demonstrated at an early
stage of development 2. If this is not possible when,*forexample, the steaks are cut from
the beef round, it is necessary to put the pieces througha mechanical tenderizer once or
twice then freeze before drying.
-
The best muscle for freeze-drying is the loin which is trimmed and laid out at, moulded
carefully to a roughly circular cross section if necessary‘to t the nal container, and frozen.
The steaks and chops are then cut 1/2 to 5/8” thick on a band saw. This is important for
if the slices are cut by hand from the unfroze’n meat, the bres may be folded or blocked
at the surface by a gelatinous barrier and rehydration is hindered 24.
As we produce them in Canada, pork—choPs are prepared from regular packing house
hogs of a bacon type and the steaks from canner and cutter grade beef. This grade‘is mostly
cow beef and is the kind generally boned out by the meat packer for manufacturing,
canning and other processing operations.The better grades command a much higher price
in the retail and other fresh meat markets. Besides being economical to use, cutters and
canners grade is also lean and well avoured but it— is tough and the fat may be yellow.
For the beef to be acceptable, an enzymic tenderizer_must
be added to the water used
for rehydration and a separate packet
and salt in addition
to seasomngs
is provided With each container. The Contents of the packet are dissolved m cool or lukewarm water before immersing the meat for rehydration.
_
_
Little or no degree of tenderization—occurs duringthe rehydration m cool
water but
only during cooking… Thej right degree ; of tenderizatibn IS not always attarned. Sometrme
the meat remains to,o tough and other’timesbecomes too
_
.
…