Using a solar drier for preparation of traditional Vietnamese beef jerky

Bc. Jan Staš

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Meat is one of the most valuable livestock products, for many people serves as their first source of protein. Rising demand for meat in developing countries combined with poor equipment and knowledge about meat preservation highlight the importance of feasible alternatives for rural populations. Drying or dehydration is one of the most popular methods for food preservation. Drying the product directly on the sun, which is still popular in rural areas in Vietnam, is associated with lots of difficulties as possibility of contamination by microorganisms, pests or moulds. For that reason, this diploma thesis focuses on the use of solar dryer for preparation of traditional Vietnamese beef jerky as alternative to open sun-drying and as well as alternative to laboratory dryer (electric oven). Beef and buffalo meat samples were prepared, and two different types of pre-treatment were applied; marinating the samples in Vietnamese traditional marinade and frying the samples in the oil on the pan before drying. Drying was conducted in Active Solar Dryer (ASD) and Laboratory Oven (LD). The aim was to find any correlation between the dryers and the speed of drying and if there was any correlation between the different types of pre-treatment applied. Behaviour of both meat types was also analysed. From these results it was observed, that both drying efficiencies (in ASD and LD) are similar. It was found that depending on the pre-treatment applied, the marinating might influence the drying process in a way in which it will make it slower in both, ASD and LD. The influence of the marinade on the drying process was not statistically significant. The same effect was found in the case of frying the samples before drying. With this pre-treatment, the slowdown of the drying process in LD was statistically significant (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the behaviour of beef and buffalo meat.Organoleptic properties of five samples were assessed by the 13-member degustation panel. The best scored sample was beef meat from local market (BM), followed by beef meat dried in ASD (BE) and buffalo meat dried in ASD (BU). Frying the samples before drying did not affect final organoleptic properties significantly.

Keywords

Solar drying, CIE Lab, Organoleptic properties, Meat drying, Beef and buffalo jerky, Renewable energy

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 26. 4. 2017

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Jan Banout, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Master programme / field:
Tropical Agriculture / Sustainable Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics