Application Studies / Hot Dog TPA test

Hot Dog TPA test

Industry:

Food

Meat

New Foods

Attributes measured:

hardness

firmness

springiness

resilience

chewiness

cohesiveness

Background

Hot dog texture can be very complicated. Manufacturers sell regular and low fat hot dogs which are beef, pork, pork with beef, all poultry or any combination of poultry, beef and pork. Hardness, springiness, resilience and cohesiveness are the textural parameters which are affected by different ingredients and manufacturing techniques. In some products fracturability can also be important. These attributes are best quantified with a Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) style test which can establish a texture fingerprint for each product. The seven varieties of hot dogs tested for this study were all purchased at a local supermarket. The products include Oscar Mayer Beef Franks, Oscar Mayer No Fat Beef Franks, Bests Kosher Beef Franks, Ball Park Beef Franks, Mr. Turkey Franks, Korn King Low Fat Franks and Farmland Franks.