Effects of animal sex and salt level on dry-cured ham quality

Cilj naloge je bil ugotoviti, kako spol prašiča in dolžina soljenja stegen vplivata na fizikalno-kemijske in teksturne lastnosti pršuta. V ta namen smo predelali stegna dvanajstih prašičev, šestih kastratov in šestih svinjk. Vse leve noge smo uporabili za krajše (10 dni), vse desne noge pa za daljše soljenje (18 dni). Vsi ostali postopki med predelavo so bili enaki. Po zaključenem zorenju smo za nadaljnje analize odvzeli vzorce dveh mišic, semimembranosus (SM) in biceps femoris (BF). Stegna kastratov so se od stegen svinjk razlikovala le v zamaščenosti, kar se je med predelavo, v fazi soljenja, odrazilo v manjši izgubi mase. Po zaključenem zorenju se stegna kastratov in svinjk niso razlikovala v kemijsko-fizikalnih lastnostih, razen v indeksu proteolize, ki je bil manjši v mišičnini kastratov, kar kaže na manj izražene proteolitične procese pri slednjih. Skladno s tem je analiza teksturnih lastnosti pokazala, da je bil po zaključku zorenja pršut iz svinjk (ugotovljeno za mišico BF), bolj mehak, manj koheziven in manj gumijast. Vpliv spola je značilno vplival na barvo mastnine in mišičnine po zaključku zorenja, in sicer je bila barva mastnine in barva obeh mišic BF in SM pri svinjkah svetlejša kot pri kastratih. Trajanje soljenja je vplivalo na vsebnost soli v pršutu, ki je bila pri krajšem soljenju značilno zmanjšana. Prav tako je krajše soljenje vplivalo na teksturne lastnosti pršuta, saj je bil pršut, ki je bil izpostavljen krajšemu soljenju mehkejši (SM in BF), mišica SM je bila tudi manj kohezivna, gumijasta in žvečljiva.The purpose of the master thesis was to determine how the pig\u27s sex and the salting duration affect the physicochemical and texture properties of dry-cured ham. Thus, the thighs of twelve pigs, six castrates and six gilts were used. All left legs were used for the shorter (ten days) and all right legs for the longer (18 days) salting process, while there were no differences in other treatments. At the end of processing, samples of two muscles, semimembranosus (SM) and biceps femoris (BF), were taken for analysis. The results on raw material (green ham) properties showed that fat cover was affected by sex (castrates fatter than gilts), whereas no effect was observed on pH value or ham weight. Greater fat cover of green hams reflected in a smaller weight loss during the salting phase. At the end of processing, the thighs of castrates and gilts did not differ in chemical-physical properties but the difference was observed for the index of proteolysis, which was smaller in castrate muscles, indicating a lesser extent of proteolysis. Consistent with that, the texture analysis showed that dry-cured hams (determined for BF muscle) from gilts were more tender, less cohesive and less rubbery. The influence of sex effect was also shown in the colour of fat and muscle at the end of maturation. The colour of fat in gilts was lighter in comparison with castrates, which was observed in both muscles (BF in SM). Shorter duration of salting significantly reduced salt intake and concentration in the dry-cured ham, which affected the textural properties of the ham. Dry-cured ham chosen with a shorter salting were softer (exhibited for both muscles SM in BF), less cohesive, less rubbery and less chewy (exhibited in SM muscle)