Physical properties of air-dried and freeze-dried chicken white meat

Cooked, diced chicken meat was dehydrated by various air- and freeze-drying techniques. The dried material was evaluated to determine shear strength, friability, color, rehydration, surface area, porosity, density and pore size distribution. A Scanning Electron Microscope was employed to study effects of the drying process on meat fiber structure. We found that freeze-drying produced a porous material with excellent rehydration properties. Air-drying produced samples with less porosity and poorer rehydration. We concluded that porosity was the primary factor in rehydration potential and surface area and pore size distribution was less important