Effect of vacuum cooling on the thermophysical properties of a cooked beef product Original Research Article

The thermophysical properties of a cooked beef product cooled using vacuum cooling (VC) and three other cooling treatments including air blast (AB), water immersion (WI) and slow air (SA) were measured. Thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, porosity, true density and apparent density together with proximates were evaluated in fully cooked and cooled samples. The thermal conductivity showed a good correlation with water content and porosity particularly in vacuum-cooled samples. Thermal conductivity decreased with decreasing apparent density in samples. Loss of moisture and development of porosity during VC had the most significant effects on the thermophysical properties of the samples cooled.