SOME PARAMETERS INVOLVED IN PRODUCTION OF ZOUSOON - A SEMIDRY, LONG FIBERED PORK PRODUCT

The production of Zousoon, which is a semi-dry, long-fibered (5-8 cm) pork product, is described as traditionally produced in Taiwan. The production process is an empirical one and is more of an art than a science. The present paper describes a modified clothes dryer developed to tumble and dry the product, which was shown to result in improved heat transfer and greater shear forces that gave better control of evaporation of water while causing the muscle bundles to disintegrate into smaller subunits. Color development and finishing to a final a(w) of 0.60 to 0.65 for the predried product was found to be best achieved by heating with steam at 150-degrees-C for 7 min. The predried product was finished in a steam-heated dryer-finisher while adding fat. The final product had a yellowish-brown color and a fibrous appearance, being more uniform in color and texture than that produced in the traditional gas-fired, scraping-frypan.