pH reduction and vegetable tissue structure changes of zucchini slices during pulsed vacuum acidification

A pulsed vacuum acidification treatment (PVA) applied to zucchini slices and the related response of vegetable tissues, were studied. Results showed that in comparison with a traditional acidifying-dipping at atmospheric pressure, PVA may improve the pH reduction as a consequence of the increase of acid solution-vegetable tissues contact area. Nevertheless, the low porosity fraction of fresh zucchini, the variability of the vegetable tissue structure and its mechanical properties did not allow to increase the acidification rate by increasing the vacuum level of 200 mbar. In particular, the study of structural changes showed that the liquid volume changes occurred without significant total volume variation due to the rigidity of vegetable tissues. Probably, this aspect reduced the deformation-relaxation phenomena which have great effect on liquid impregnation at both 200 mbar and 400 mbar. In addition, due to the low viscosity of acid solution it was hypothesize a great filling also at 400 mbar reducing the effect of the increase of vacuum pressure.     

Application of Vacuum Impregnation Techniques to Improve the pH Reduction of Vegetables: Study on Carrots and Eggplants

The effects of vacuum acidification (VA) and pulsed vacuum acidification (PVA) on pH reduction and their kinetics on carrot and eggplant slices were studied. Both vegetables showed a significant improvement of acidification rate when submitted to VA and PVA in comparison with traditional acidifying-dipping. In particular, carrot slices treated at 1,023.25 and 300 mbar showed kinetic constants of “Peleg-type model,” respectively, of 163.11?±?108.4 and 31.86?±?11.15 min^?1 proving a significant increase of initial rate when a vacuum pulse was applied. Nevertheless, a further increase of vacuum did not improve pH reduction due to the low-porosity and the high-rigidity tissues. For eggplants submitted to VA, a fractional decrease of pH of 20 % was obtained by applying a pressure of 100 mbar for a vacuum time of 3 min and a relaxation time of 5 min; instead, only a reduction of 3 % was obtained at atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, the changes on visual appearance of vegetable tissue were highlighted, showing that the inhomogeneous response of eggplants to the vacuum in different sections of the slices could reduce the consumers’ acceptability.     

Evaluation of high pressure (HP) treatment for rapid and uniform pH reduction in carrots

Acidification (pH < 4.6) of marginally low acid foods allows them to be treated like high acid foods and, hence, has the potential to improve quality and reduce energy costs by lowering the severity of processing conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate high pressure (HP) treatment for rapid and uniform pH reduction of low acid foods using carrot. Three organic acids (citric, malic and glucono-delta-lactone) were used in the study. Conventional acidification tests were carried out at atmospheric pressure at different temperatures (36–48 °C) and different treatment times (0–36 min). HP treatments were given at room temperature (maximum process temperature <32 °C) with different pressures (200–300 MPa) and treatment times (0–14 min). Time dependent acid infusion and the resulting pH reduction were used to evaluate the acidification kinetics. Results showed that the pH reduction rates were described by a first order kinetic model. No significant differences (p > 0.05) in acidification rates were observed between the acidifying agents either in conventional or HP acidification process. Pressure (HP acidification) and temperature (conventional acidification) significantly (p < 0.05) reduced decimal reduction time (D) for pH drop. The associated D values were 2.4–4.4 times higher in conventional (slower) as compared with HP acidification. For conventional acidification, the z values (temperature sensitivity) were 34–44.8 °C and for HP acidification, the z values (pressure sensitivity) were 206–222 MPa. HP acidification provided more rapid and uniform pH reduction as compared to conventional method.     

Technical note: The use of a telemetric system to continuously monitor ruminal temperature and to predict ruminal pH in cattle

The objective of this study was to compare a telemetric monitoring system to an existing in situ methodology (conventional system) of monitoring ruminal temperature and to validate its use to detect changes in ruminal pH (RpH). Four nonlactating, ruminally cannulated Holstein dairy cows (760 ± 30 kg of body weight, mean ± standard deviation) housed in a tie-stall facility were used in the study. The experiment was conducted during the month of May and the recorded ambient temperature was 8.0 ± 2.0°C (mean ± SD). The cows were fed a diet consisting of chopped mixed hay (MH; 11.3% crude protein, 59.7% neutral detergent fiber, 17.3% nonfiber carbohydrate, 3.1% ether extract, and 11.3% ash; dry matter basis) during wk 1 and were gradually switched to a high-grain (HG) diet (11.6% crude protein, 30.2% neutral detergent fiber, 50.7% nonfiber carbohydrate, 3.0% ether extract, and 6.0% ash; dry matter basis) during wk 2. A conventional system that utilized an indwelling electrode was used to monitor RpH and ruminal temperature (RT_C) during d 6 and 7 of each week. The indwelling electrode was attached to a telemetric bolus and ruminal temperature (RT_T) was logged into a personal computer. The daily mean, minimum, and maximum RpH and duration (min/d) RpH <6.2 were 6.39 ± 0.04, 6.10 ± 0.05, 6.66 ± 0.03, and 107 ± 50 during MH feeding (wk 1) and 5.84 ± 0.03, 5.35 ± 0.05, 6.35 ± 0.03, and 1,257 ± 40 during HG feeding (wk 2), respectively, and were different across diets (week effect). Ruminal pH did not decrease below 5.6, 5.8, and 6.0 during MH feeding; mean duration of RpH <5.6, <5.8, and <6.0 during HG feeding was 279 ± 149, 611 ± 139, and 894 ± 101, respectively. Mean daily RT_C increased from 37.5?C ± 0.1 in wk 1 to 38.6°C ± 0.1 in wk 2; there was also an increase from wk 1 to wk 2 in minimum and maximum daily RT_C and durations (min/d) of RT_C >38.0, >38.2, >38.4, and >38.6°C. These increases were not detectable with the telemetric system. Ruminal temperature obtained by the conventional system was 0.68°C ± 0.005 lower than RT_T during MH feeding (wk 1), whereas RT_C was 0.04°C ± 0.004 higher than RT_T during HG feeding (wk 2). Daily minimum RpH was associated with maximum daily RT_C and RT_T during MH and HG feeding (R² = 0.88 and 0.43, respectively). There was a high association between low RpH and high ruminal temperature, with the highest associations being between duration (min/d) of RpH <6.0 and duration of RT_C >39.0°C (R² = 0.68) and RT_T >39.2°C (R² = 0.72). Unlike the telemetric system, the conventional system requires cow cannulation; therefore, the current study provided a noninvasive alternative for measuring ruminal temperature and the prediction of RpH. Additional studies are needed to develop an algorithm that accounts for diet type, seasonal variation in temperature, and core body temperature to predict subacute ruminal acidosis effectively on farm.     

From biorefinery of microalgal biomass to vacuum impregnation of fruit. A multidisciplinary strategy to develop innovative food with increased nutritional properties

A multi-disciplinary approach based on the biorefinery of microalgae biomass (Chlorella sorokiniana) to remove the lipid fraction responsible of the green color and the ‘fishy’ aroma and vacuum impregnation technique to create innovative apple snacks with improved nutritional properties has been investigated. The pressure (150 mbar – 650 mbar), vacuum time (1–7 min) and relaxation time (3–13 min) were modulated by using a Box-Behnken experimental design. The filling of apple pores occurred with a maximum gaining weight of 19.5% and a reduction of porosity fraction from 15.32% to less than 5% but only the pressure and relaxation time significantly affect the level of impregnation. While the texture did not show any difference compared to fresh apples, the color of impregnated apple was affected with minor change in comparison.Industrial relevanceResults positively fuel the food chain sustainability by proposing multidisciplinary tools that combine microalgae cultivation, biorefinery and vacuum impregnation processing capable to improve the nutritional quality of fruit products. Biorefinery is proved to be an essential technology for fractionating chemical compounds from raw microalgae and improving their potential use in food industry as source of nutrient by eliminating some undesired components such as lipid fractions related to the fishy aroma. Finally, the obtained results may be used as basic protocols for the optimization of VI treatments aiming to enrich fruit product of proteins and micronutrients.     

Feasibility assessment of vacuum cooling followed by immersion vacuum cooling on water-cooked pork

Vacuum cooling followed by immersion vacuum cooling was designed to cool water-cooked pork (1.5 ± 0.05 kg) compared with air blast cooling (4 ± 0.5 °C, 2 m/s), vacuum cooling (10 mbar) and immersion vacuum cooling. This combined cooling method was: vacuum cooling to an intermediate temperature of 25 °C and then immersion vacuum cooling with water of 10 °C to the final temperature of 10 °C. It was found that the cooling loss of this combined cooling method was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those of air blast cooling and vacuum cooling. This combined cooling was faster (P < 0.05) than air blast cooling and immersion vacuum cooling in terms of cooling rate. Moreover, the pork cooled by combined cooling method had significant differences (P < 0.05) in water content, color and shear force.     

Comparison between atmospheric and vacuum frying of apple slices

Vacuum deep-fat frying is a new technology that can be used to improve quality attributes of fried food because of the low temperatures employed and minimal exposure to oxygen. In this paper atmospheric and vacuum frying of apple slices were compared, in terms of oil uptake, moisture loss and color development. In addition, some apple slices were pre-dried (up to 64% w.b.) before vacuum frying to determine the overall effect. To carry out appropriate comparisons between both technologies equivalent thermal driving forces were used in both processes (ΔT = 40, 50, 60 °C), keeping a constant difference between the oil temperature and the boiling point of water at the working pressure. Vacuum frying was shown to be a promising technique that can be used to reduce oil content in fried apple slices while preserving the color of the product. Particularly, drying prior to vacuum frying was shown to give the best results. For instance, when using a driving force of ΔT = 60 °C, pre-dried vacuum fried slices absorbed less than 50% of the oil absorbed by atmospheric fried ones. Interestingly, a strong relationship between water loss and oil content was observed in both technologies, allowing the extension of observations that have been made for atmospheric frying.     

胡萝卜片中富集植物乳杆菌的工艺优化

为将植物乳杆菌富集到胡萝卜中以制备含益生菌的果蔬功能食品,本研究首先通过单因素和正交试验优化植物乳杆菌以真空浸渍和超声浸渍的方式富集到胡萝卜片中的工艺参数,然后以常压浸渍为对照比较3种浸渍方式下胡萝卜片中富集的活菌数,以期获得较优的胡萝卜植物乳杆菌富集方式。结果表明,真空浸渍较优工艺参数为真空浸渍温度35℃、真空浸渍时间15 min、复压浸渍时间20 min;超声浸渍较优工艺参数为超声浸渍温度30℃、超声浸渍功率125 W、超声浸渍时间12 min。比较真空浸渍、超声浸渍和常压浸渍3种方式下胡萝卜中活菌数可知,真空浸渍组活菌数最多,达到10~(10) CFU/g以上;扫描电子显微镜结果显示,在真空和超声浸渍的胡萝卜组织中均观察到杆状菌体,而在常压浸渍样品的组织内部未发现菌体。3种浸渍方式下胡萝卜组织表面均有大量菌体。本研究获得了较优的胡萝卜中富集植物乳杆菌工艺参数,为乳酸菌或其他菌通过真空浸渍富集到果蔬组织中提供实验依据,也为含益生菌功能食品开发提供新思路。     

Effects of Vacuum Impregnation with Calcium Ascorbate and Disodium Stannous Citrate on Chinese Red Bayberry

This study aimed to improve the shelf life of Chinese red bayberries using vacuum impregnation. Vacuum pressure of 5 kPa for 15 min, atmospheric pressure for 10 min, an impregnation temperature of 20 °C, alone or in combination with isotonic sucrose solution, 1% food-grade disodium stannous citrate (DSC) and 2% food-grade calcium ascorbate were used for vacuum impregnation. Quality parameters, including firmness, weight loss, decay rate, microbial counts and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) activities, of red bayberries were studied at 2 °C for 10 days. The monosaccharide components, chemical structures and nanostructure properties of chelate-soluble pectin (CSP) were further studied using high-performance liquid chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results indicated that vacuum impregnation with calcium ascorbate alone or calcium ascorbate combined with DSC showed significant effects on inhibiting the decrease of firmness (4–10 days), the increase of weight loss (2–10 days), decay rate (4–10 days) and microbial growth (2–10 days). In addition, vacuum impregnation with single calcium ascorbate or DSC or their combination significantly inhibited the increase of colour difference from day 6 to day 10 during storage, which was better than atmospheric impregnation. Furthermore, vacuum impregnation with DSC and calcium ascorbate had the best effect on sensory attributes. The nanostructure analysis by AFM showed CSP of large width and length when calcium ascorbate was impregnated, suggesting that vacuum impregnated with 2% calcium ascorbate inhibited the degradation and dissociation of CSP, although these fruits showed more branching of rhamnogalacturonan and a small change in chemical structure.     

Fractionation of citronella (Cymbopogon winterianus) essential oil and concentrated orange oil phase by batch vacuum distillation

The aim of this work was to assess the performance of a vacuum fractionating column for the fractionation of citronella essential oil and concentrated orange oil phase during batch mode operation at different pressures, from 20 to 1 mbar and reflux ratios from 1:1 to 10:1. Fractions from column top and bottom were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC/FID) using authentic standards of major constituents of the oils. Good fractionation results for citronella essential oil were achieved, affording complete removal of limonene, with a rich citronellal fraction and an output stream constituted mainly by citronellol and geraniol. Likewise, the use of the vacuum fractionation column allowed almost complete removal of limonene (∼0.7 wt% at column bottom) from the orange oil phase at the lowest operating pressure, 1 mbar, while the higher valencene content (20.5 wt%) was obtained at 10 mbar and reflux ratio of 1:1.     

Effects of processing parameters on immersion vacuum cooling time and physico-chemical properties of pork hams

The effects of agitation (1002 rpm), different pressure reduction rates (60 and 100 mbar/min), as well as employing cold water with different initial temperatures (IWT: 7 and 20 °C) on immersion vacuum cooling (IVC) of cooked pork hams were experimentally investigated. Final pork ham core temperature, cooling time, cooling loss, texture properties, colour and chemical composition were evaluated. The application for the first time of agitation during IVC substantially reduced the cooling time (47.39%) to 4.6 °C, compared to IVC without agitation. For the different pressure drop rates, there was a trend that shorter IVC cooling times were achieved with lower cooling rate, although results were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). For both IWTs tested, the same trend was observed: shorter cooling time and lower cooling loss were obtained under lower linear pressure drop rate of 60 mbar/min (not statistically significant, P > 0.05). Compared to the reference cooling method (air blast cooling), IVC achieved higher cooling rates and better meat quality.     

Vacuum impregnation modulates the metabolic activity of spinach leaves

In this study calorimetric measurements provided evidence of a drastic increase of spinach leaf gross metabolism as a consequence of vacuum impregnation (VI) at a minimum pressure of 150 mbar with trehalose and sucrose isotonic solutions. When applying VI extracellular air is replaced by the impregnation solution, potentially limiting tissue respiration to any remaining air volume in the tissue. However the observation that impregnated leaves showed photosynthetic activity suggests that not all air was exhausted during VI. Hence impregnation appears to reach a maximum with remaining gas filled compartments. Metabolic inhibitors impregnated together with sugars showed that the short-term metabolic response, causing the drastic increase of gross metabolism upon VI, depends on mitochondrial oxygen consuming pathways. The metabolic effect following mannitol impregnation was comparable with water impregnation, suggesting that the strong metabolic effect reported here is only seen for molecules that can be metabolized and provide energy to the cells.Industrial relevanceVacuum impregnation is used to incorporate additives in fruit and vegetable tissues, such as anti-browning agents, microbial preservatives or cryoprotectants. As a promising technology in the food industry, deeper insights on the metabolic consequences of vacuum impregnation are required to define and control the shelf-life of the processed fruits and vegetables.     

Comparative study of physical and sensory properties of pre-treated potato slices during vacuum and atmospheric frying

The objective of this research was to study the effect of different processing conditions on physical and sensory properties of potato chips. Potato slices of Desirée and Panda varieties (diameter: 30 mm; thickness: 3 mm) were pre-treated in the following ways: (i) control or unblanched slices without pre-drying; (ii) blanched slices in hot water at 85 °C for 3.5 min and air-dried at 60 °C until a final moisture content of ∼0.6 kg water/kg dry solid; (iii) control slices soaked in a 3.5 kg/m³ sodium metabisulphite solution at 20 °C for 3 min and pH adjusted to 3. Pre-treated slices were fried at 120 and 140 °C under vacuum conditions (5.37 kPa, absolute pressure) and under atmospheric pressure until they reached a final moisture content of ∼1.8 kg water/100 kg (wet basis). An experimental design (3 × 2³) was used to analyze the effect of pre-treatment, potato variety, type of frying and frying temperature over the following responses: oil content, instrumental color and texture and sensory evaluation. Vacuum frying increased significantly (p < 0.05) oil content and decreased instrumental color and textural parameters. Sensory attributes, flavor quality and overall quality, were significantly improved using vacuum frying. The higher frying temperature (140 °C) increased ΔE, maximum breaking force, hardness and crispness and decreased L^* and b^* values. On the other hand, Panda potato variety improved the color of the product. A great improvement on color parameters was obtained using sulphited potato slices instead of the other pre-treatments. Although, the better flavor was obtained for control potato chips, no significant differences were found for overall quality between control and sulphited potato chips. Significant correlations (p < 0.01) between sensory and instrumental responses were found.     

Evaluation of innovative immersion vacuum cooling with different pressure reduction rates and agitation for cooked sausages stuffed in natural or artificial casing

Effects of different pressure reduction rates and liquid agitation (523 rpm) on sausage successful rate, cooling time, cooling loss, texture properties, chemical and physical parameters were analysed by ANCOVA. Tested linear pressure drop rate from 320 mbar to 50 mbar was 20 (L 20), 30 (L 30), or 40 (L 40) mbar/min for artificial casing sausages (ACS) and 60 (L 60), 80 (L 80), or 100 (L 100) mbar/min for natural casing sausages (NCS). From 50 mbar until 6.4 mbar, 5 mbar/min was used for both casings. NCS were more suitable than ACS for IVC. The recommended pressure reduction rate was 30 mbar/min for ACS and 60 mbar/min for NCS. ACS under 30 mbar/min with agitation (LA 30) presented significantly higher texture property values than that without agitation (L 30) (P < 0.05). Cooling time (to 4 °C) of NCS under 60 mbar/min and agitation (LA 60) was significantly shorter than that without agitation (L 60) (P < 0.05). This study could assist meat processors or manufactures when choosing a suitable pressure drop rate for different types of sausages.     

Development of volatile fraction of fresh cut osmotically treated mango during cold storage

The influence of minimal processing by osmotic treatment and cold storage on the volatile profile of mango was studied by comparison with the volatile profile of fresh samples. Osmotic treatments, at atmospheric pressure and by applying a vacuum pulse, were carried out using a 45 Brix sucrose solution with (2%) and without calcium lactate, at 30 °C. Samples were treated until they reached 20 Brix in all cases. The volatile profile of the samples was characterised at 0, 1, 4 and 8 days of cold storage at 10 °C, using purge and trap thermal desorption and GC–MS. Osmotic treatment provokes a decrease in the terpene concentration (the most abundant compounds in the volatile fraction mango) and an increase in ethyl acetate and 1-butanol. This fact was especially observed in treatment applying vacuum impregnation with calcium. Treatment at atmospheric pressure, with calcium in the osmotic solution, was the best way to prevent aroma alterations during processing and to ensure its stability throughout cold storage.     

Osmotic dehydration of raspberries with vacuum pretreatment followed by microwave-vacuum drying

Defrozen raspberries were osmotically dehydrated in sucrose solution initially at low pressure (1.33 kPa for 8 min), and then at ambient pressure (4 h). Moisture decreased from 84% to 49% (wet basis), and almost one half of water removal occurred at the vacuum period. Two different transport coefficients were obtained: 19.9 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s for transport of water under vacuum, and 3.2 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s for water transport at atmospheric pressure. Losses of vitamin C were high (80%) and reutilization of sucrose solution is suggested. Osmotically dried raspberries were microwave-vacuum dried (1.33 kPa for 40 min) under on–off temperature control by varying microwave settings. An undamaged dried product (7.8% wet basis) of high quality (color, taste, structure) was obtained.     

A novel idea in food extraction field: Study of vacuum microwave hydrodiffusion technique for by-products extraction

Vacuum microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity (VMHG), a modified form of solvent free microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity (MHG) technique, was used for extraction of onion by-products. A detailed study concerning about optimisation of different parameters like irradiation power, degree of vacuum and extraction time was performed. Subsequently, the temperature difference in different parts of matrix and also in the reactor was evaluated both in case of MHG and VMHG. Extracts obtained by VMHG, MHG and also conventional solvent extraction method (CSE) were analyzed for quantification of flavonoids by HPLC, along with studying the distribution of flavonoids in different intervals of time at optimised conditions. Two different methods were selected for evaluating the antioxidant capacity of these extracts along with determination of their phenolic content by the Folin-Ciocalteu method: the reduction of the stable DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical and the inhibition of the AAPH-induced peroxidation of linoleic acid in SDS micelles. Reduction of pressure up to 0.7 bar at microwave power of 500 W helped to increase the antioxidant activity of onion extracts with 57% increase in total quercetin contents against those obtained at atmospheric pressure. VMHG proved itself an efficient and environment-friendly technique allowing the extraction of flavonols at lower reactor temperature (81 °C ± 1), with improved alterations of tissues observed by microscopic studies, from onion by-products just in 26 ± 1 min, in the absence of any solvent.     

Changes in qualities of minimally processed litchis: Effect of antibrowning agents, osmo-vacuum drying and moderate vacuum packaging

Litchi fruits (litchis) are highly susceptible to pericarp browning which lowers their commercial value even though the edible portion (aril) remains in excellent condition. Therefore, minimal processing of litchis was carried out. Litchis were peeled, destoned, and arils were treated with antibrowning agents (4.9 g/kg cysteine, 20 g/kg ascorbic acid and 0.134 g/kg 4-hexyl resorcinol) along with osmo-vacuum dehydration (OVD) (502 g/kg sucrose syrup for 10 min at 570 mmHg vacuum followed by a relaxation of 10 min at atmospheric pressure) and stored at 4±2 °C. The samples were analyzed for physicochemical, sensory and microbiological qualities during storage. Changes were found to become significant (P?0.05) after 4 days of storage. During storage for 24 days, a decrease in pH, TSS (°brix), sugars (g/kg), ascorbic acid (g/kg), total phenolics (g/kg), firmness (N), color (L^* value) and sensory characteristics was observed whereas an increase in microbial counts (log cfu/g), acidity (g/kg) and drip losses (ml/kg) was observed. The combined treatment of litchis with antibrowning agents and osmo-vacuum dehydration treatment were found to be most effective in preventing the changes and the samples were acceptable (sensory score >7.0) upto 24 days, whereas the samples given only OVD treatment lost acceptability due to poor color after 16 days as compared to 8 days for the control samples (dipped in water for 10 min) during refrigerated storage.     

The spoilage characteristics of Brochothrix thermosphacta and two psychrotolerant Enterobacteriacae in vacuum packed lamb and the comparison between high and low pH cuts

The spoilage potential of Brochothrix thermosphacta, Serratia proteamaculans and Rahnella aquatilis was investigated in vacuum packaged high (5.9 to 6.4) and low (5.4 to 5.8) pH lamb. Vacuum packaged fore shank (m. extensor carpi radialis) and striploins (m. longissimus dorsi) (n = 306) inoculated with ~ 100 CFU of individual bacteria were stored for twelve weeks at temperatures − 1.5, 0, 2 and 7 °C. Spoilage characteristics and bacterial numbers were recorded and analysed in comparison to un-inoculated control samples. All three bacterial species were shown to grow in vacuum packaged lamb of pH values between 5.4 and 6.4, when stored at chilled temperatures (− 1.5 to 7 °C) for up to 84 days. B. thermosphacta and S. proteamaculans caused spoilage to the meat under these conditions whilst R. aquatilis spoiled high pH meat at 7 °C. These results go against previous beef models stipulating that Brochothrix and Enterobacteriacae species cannot grow on or cause spoilage of low pH meat in the absence of oxygen.     

Milk flow-dependent vacuum loss in high-line milking systems: Effects on milking characteristics and teat tissue condition

To study the effects of a milking system that partially compensates for milk flow-dependent vacuum loss compared with a standard (high-line) milking unit in a tie-stall barn, milk flow and vacuum patterns were recorded in 10 cows during machine milking with 2 milking systems in a crossover design for 7 d each. Before and after each treatment period postmilking teat condition was recorded by ultrasound cross-sectioning. Additionally, 2 methods to measure teat tissue condition were compared: longitudinal teat ultrasound cross-sectioning and teat tissue density measurements with the spring-loaded caliper (cutimeter method). The partial compensation of milk flow-dependent vacuum loss caused an elevation of the peak flow rate (4.74 ± 0.08 vs. 4.29 ± 0.07 kg/min) and a shorter duration of plateau (1.57 ± 0.06 vs. 1.96 ± 0.07 min) compared with the standard milking system. Total milk yield, duration of incline and decline of milk flow, average milk flow, time until peak flow rate, main milking time, and total milking time did not differ between treatments (overall means: 13.75 ± 0.17 kg; 0.65 ± 0.01 min; 2.88 ± 0.09 min; 2.82 ± 0.05 kg/min; 1.65 ± 0.03 min; 5.23 ± 0.09 min, and 5.30 ± 0.10 min, respectively). The vacuum drop in the short milk tube during periods of high milk flow was less in the compensating vacuum than in the standard milking system (11 ± 1.1 vs. 15 ± 0.7 kPa). Teat measures as determined by ultrasound remained unchanged over the entire experimental period with both milking systems. Postmilking teat tissue measures including their recovery within 20 min after the end of milking show a correlation (0.85 and 0.71, respectively) between the methods used (ultrasound and cutimeter method). In conclusion, a more constant vacuum at the teat tip (within the short milk tube) during periods of high milk flow affected milk flow patterns, mainly increasing peak flow rate. However, the reduced vacuum loss did not increase the overall speed of milking. In addition, effects of higher vacuum stability on teat condition and udder health were not obvious.