Abstract:
The study assessed the effects of four reheating approaches, namely steam, microwave, air frying, and infrared-microwave, on the quality attributes of prepared chicken breast after frozen storage. Aiming to identify the optimal reheating approach for end-user consumers, parameters including temperature rising curves, water content, pH, color, protein oxidation, flavor profile, texture, and sensory qualities, were synthetically analyzed. The findings revealed no significant variances of water content were among the reheating methods (
P>0.05). Air frying led to more yellowness due to Maillard reactions, while small-molecule compounds generated along with significantly lower levels of protein oxidation (
P<0.05) and higher concentrations of nitrogenous, aldehyde/ketone compoundsand and other small molecular flavor substances (
P<0.05). These characteristics contribute to superior flavor of reheated chicken breast. The hardness and chewness were 2846.69±35.66 g and 628.85±50.80, respectively. The sensory comprehensive score reached 8.45 points, which was better than other reheating groups. Microwave and infrared-microwave enabled rapid reheating and well-balanced chicken quality, whereas steam of long reheating time resulted in marked protein oxidation (total carbonyl: 7.15±1.13 nmol/mg, total thiol: 4.53±0.10 μmol/g), small molecular severe flavor deterioration, and the highest hardness and chewiness values (3581.94±31.15 g and 1034.46±59.10, respectively). The sensory score was 6.83, ranking last. In summary, air frying is the most appropriate approach to reheat prepared chicken breast.