Analysis of quality and color characteristics of pork sous-vide ham according to gas composition (modified atmosphere packaging) and natural curing agent

The purpose of this study was to analyze whether seawater has positive effects on appearance characteristics, such as redness, and to determine the gas composition concentration that is suitable for maintaining it. Pork hind meat was cured with four types of brine for five days at 4°C. The different brines comprised the control salt (CS), control nitrite pickling salt (CN), treatment brine (BR), and treatment bittern (BT). The cured hams were cooked at 65°C for 4 h and packaged at O₂:N₂ gas ratios of 7:3, 8:2, and 9:1 for three weeks. The physicochemical properties were assessed immediately after heating the sample, and the color properties were measured after a three-week storage period. Based on the correlation results of the physicochemical properties, BT had a higher curing and cooking yield than the other treatments, owing to its high salinity. Results of color properties for BT (7:3) and CN (8:2) showed similar color lightness, redness chroma, and hue angle values. Therefore, BT can be said to be a sous-vide brine suitable for preserving the color of ham, and a high nitrogen concentration of 30% helps to maintain the appearance of seawater sous-vide ham.