Microstructural Comparisons of Three Commercial Frankfurters

Three commercially available brands of beef and pork frankfurters were compared by light and scanning electron microscopy for protein matrix structure and fat distribution within the sausages. One brand had a coarse protein matrix structure, large fat droplets and some large pieces of intact muscle, while a second brand had a more uniform fat and protein distribution with some visible muscle fragments present. A third brand of frank had uniformly small fat droplets evenly distributed in a protein matrix. Scanning electron micrographs show this frank to be a true meat emulsion. These observations show the wide variation between the microstructure of acceptable commercial frankfurters.