SURVIVAL OF SALMONELLA TYPHIMURIUM IN ROASTING CHICKENS COOKED IN A MICROWAVE, CONVECTION MICROWAVE, AND A CONVENTIONAL ELECTRIC OVEN

Fresh whole roasting chickens were inoculated with Salmonella typhimurium and cooked either in a microwave, convection microwave, or conventional electric oven to an internal temperature of 74°C, 77°C, 79°C, or 85°C. Cooked chickens were tested for the presence of viable Salmonella organisms using an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). No chicken (0/12) cooked to ± 79°C in the convection microwave or conventional oven tested positive for Salmonella. Two out of three chickens cooked to 79°C and all three chickens cooked to 85°C in the microwave tested Salmonella positive. Tetrathionate broth dilutions from all 11 microwave cooked chickens produced isolated colonies on Brilliant Green Agar. No growth was observed on Brilliant Green Agar plates inoculated with tetrathionate broth dilutions from chickens cooked to an internal temperature of 79°C or 85°C in the conventional oven or to 85°C in the convection microwave.     

SENSORY ATTRIBUTES AND NUTRIENT RETENTION IN SELECTED VEGETABLES PREPARED BY CONVENTIONAL AND MICROWAVE METHODS

Sensory characteristics and retention of vitamin C, vitamin B₆, calcium, and magnesium were determined in vegetables cooked by conventional and microwave methods. Fresh broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes and frozen corn and peas were cooked by boiling, steaming, microwave boiling and microwave steaming to equivalent tenderness as measured by a shear press. The sensory analysis of the vegetables cooked by the four methods indicated that some differences existed in color, flavor, texture, and moistness of the vegetables. No one method resulted in vegetables with optimum sensory characteristics. The nutrient retention was highest in foods cooked by microwave steaming, followed by microwave boiling, followed by steaming, and then by boiling. Generally vegetables cooked by microwave techniques retained higher percentages of the U. S. Recommended Daily Allowances for the nutrients than those cooked by conventional methods.     

SENSORY ATTRIBUTES AND THIAMINE CONTENT OF ROASTING CHICKENS COOKED IN A MICROWAVE, CONVECTION MICROWAVE AND CONVENTIONAL ELECTRIC OVEN

Fresh whole roasting chickens were cooked to an internal temperature of 79°C (175°F) in either a microwave, convection microwave or conventional electric oven. The sensory attributes of breast meat samples from chickens cooked in the three ovens were evaluated by untrained and laboratory panels. Untrained panelists found convection microwave cooked samples to be more acceptable in terms of juiciness than microwave cooked samples. Laboratory panelists rated the chicken cooked in the conventional oven as significantly more tender and juicy but similar in flavor intensity to chicken cooked in the microwave ovens. Thiamine retention on a dry weight basis ranged from 77% in conventionally cooked chicken breasts to 98% in microwave cooked chicken legs.     

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IRON BIOAVAILABILITY IN RATS FROM SOYBEAN AND COTTONSEED PROTEIN ISOLATE DIETS

The purpose of this research was to determine the relative iron bioavailability from soybean and cottonseed protein isolates by using an iron depletion/repletion method. Iron stores of rats were depleted so that any iron introduced in the diet would be utilized at a maximum and linear rate for hemoglobin regeneration. A comparison of iron utilization from cottonseed and soy to the reference standard could then be made. Between 40 and 47% of the iron consumed from the soy diet was converted to hemoglobin iron. The cottonseed diets had a significantly lower (29 to 34%) conversion efficiency (P < 0.05) in comparison to casein but were not significantly different from the soy diets.