ON THE WATER CONDITION IN PORK MEAT

The water condition of cured and uncured pork, having different ageing times, was studied in the process of heating to 80-degrees-C, using nuclear-magnetic resonance methods. In the transverse magnetization decay functions five components could be distinguished, differing from each other by their relative weights and relaxation times. The greatest relative weight (60-70%) was characteristic of the component having relaxation time 35-45 ms ('d'), which could be related to immobilized water. The change of the component's 'd' relative weight while heating was significantly dependent on the ageing time of meat and the factor of curing or not curing before heating. It was shown that the greatest amount of immobilized water and its strongest bonding were observed in uncured pork during the first 6-7 h and after 48 h post mortem. Cured meat possesses the highest amount of immobilized water at room temperature after 48-96 h post mortem, however, its bonding at heating is higher in the case of meat which is cured during the first hours and after 96 h post mortem.