Apparent Thermal Conductivity, Water Content, Density, and Porosity of Thermally‐processed Ground Chicken Patties¹

Changes in thermal conductivity, density, and porosity during heating were evaluated for commercially manufactured ground chicken breast patties in a temperature range of 23 to 85C. The thermal conductivity of the meat, heated in a closed container, decreased approximately 8% with increasing temperature. In a separate test series, where water was free to leave the meat during cooking, the water content decreased approximately 15% over the same temperature range. The thermal conductivity of the meat was modeled as a quadratic function of temperature. Changes in the water content were modeled as a linear function of temperature. The solid density increased approximately 6%, and the porosity more than doubled with a temperature increase from 23 to 85C.