Rheological and Water‐Holding Properties of Comminuted Turkey Breast and Thigh: Effects of Initial pH

The effect of pH on properties of comminuted turkey breast and thigh was investigated by adding acid or base during chopping or dialyzing meat batters against buffers. Cooking yield was a function of meat pH and independent of pH‐adjustment method. Thigh meat gels (pH 6.4) had higher cooking yield, held‐water, and shear stress and shear strain at failure than breast meat gels (pH 5.9). Functional properties of breast meat adjusted to pH 6.4 during chopping were similar to those of thigh, whereas thigh adjusted to pH 5.9 remained different from breast. Rheological properties of breast meat gels did not increase when pH was adjusted by dialysis, suggesting that pH during chopping is important to rheological properties.