Cooking Pattern and Quality Properties of Ground Pork Patties as Affected by Microwave Power Levels

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of microwave power level on cooking properties of ground pork patties (fat level: 20%). Each patty was cooked from it thawed state to 76.7 degrees C (center temperature) in a microwave oven with power levels of 40% (360 W), 60% (540 W), 80% (720 W), and 100% (full power, 900 W), respectively. Cooking rate increased with power level. and the non-uniformity also increased with time during cooking. Overheating at the edge of the patties was observed for all power levels, and maximum temperature differences in between the edge position and center position were found in patties cooked at the 900 W power level. Compositional properties, total cooking loss, and drip loss were not affected by power level, although moisture content was lower at the edge than at the center position. As the power level increased, the reduction in patty diameter of cooked patties increased while the reduction in patty thickness decreased. Pork patties cooked at lower power levels (360 W and 540 W) had higher shear force values than those cooked at higher power levels (720 W and 900 W). Few changes were observed in instrumental color values.