Beef Patty Texture Analysis, Cooking Loss, and Statistical Analysis: Investigating the Formation of Stable Pickering Emulsions

(1) The texture profiles of the beef patty were assessed using a Texture Analyzer (TA-XT Plus, Stable Micro Systems Ltd., Surrey, UK) equipped with a cylinder probe. The measuring parameters included a pre-test speed of 1.0 mm/s, post-test speed of 5.0 mm/s, test speed of 1.0 mm/s, and 50% strain compression with 20 g trigger force. Each patty treatment was performed in six replicates. (2) Cooking loss was evaluated by weighing the beef burgers before and after frying using a fryer (Delonghi, F38436, USA). (3) The results were expressed as mean values ± standard deviations obtained from three independent trials. Statistical analyses were conducted using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedure from the SPSS 21.0 statistical analysis program, and the differences between means of the trials were determined by a least significant difference (LSD) test (P ≤ 0.05). (4) Zein's natural conformation may not be disturbed when the TS concentration is below the CMC. However, as the TS concentration increases beyond the CMC, TS can be incorporated into the hydrophobic zein structure, leading to the formation of soluble ZTCNP. (5) The FTIR spectra of zein, TS, and ZTCNP are presented in Fig. 2. The absorption peak at 1660 cm-1 corresponds to the C=O stretching vibration of the amide I from zein (Fig. 2A). The adsorption peaks at 1262 cm-1 and 1078 cm-1 relate to the C-O-H and C-O-C bonds of TS, respectively (Fig. 2B), which were all evident in the spectrum chart of ZTCNP (Fig. 2C). These results indicate that TS may interact with zein's amide I group by binding together with it. Additionally, zein, being a proline-rich protein (PRP), may interact with polyphenol through hydrophobic interactions with the pyrrolidine ring of proline. (6) The nearly neutral wettability (θow∼90°) facilitates efficient packing of particles at the oil-water interface and creates a steric barrier that prevents the coalescence of oil droplets. The addition of TS enhances the hydrophobicity of zein particles by hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl moieties of zein and the hydroxyl groups of TS, resulting in an increase in the hydroxyl groups at the surface of zein particles, thereby reducing their hydrophobic nature. Previous studies have shown that the wettability of zein particles can be successfully modified by the ionic surfactant, sodium stearate, via hydrophobic interactions. In this study, TS was utilized to reduce the hydrophobicity of zein, resulting in the formation of near-neutral wettability of ZGCP, which contributes to the generation of stable Pickering emulsions.