Proximate Composition of Thawed Chicken Meat and Drip After Storage

A LARGE percentage of poultry meat is frozen by processors prior to sale, or by homemakers after purchase, and may be held for varying periods of frozen storage. Considerable quantities of moisture are released from carcasses upon thawing, thus the ultimate consumer is confronted with the unsightly appearance of the packaged product and the unpleasant experience of handling a dripping carcass. Valuable nutrients may also be lost in the drip, and these factors are all important to the poultry industry. After making quantitative studies on drip, Sair and Cook (1938a) concluded that, regardless of rate of freezing, whole birds did not drip. However, removal of skin, cutting of meat, and particularly mincing the meat increased the susceptibility of frozen-defrosted tissues to drip. Koonz and Ramsbottom (1939) reported that the freezing temperature affected the amount of drip since it determined the size, distribution and number of crystals. Fast freezing favored reabsorption . . .