Researchers evaluated changes.

Researchers evaluated changes in thermal conductivity, density and porosity of commercially manufactured ground chicken breast patties in a temperature range of 23 C to 85 C. The thermal conductivity of the meat, heated in a closed container, decreased approximately 8% with increasing temperature. In separate testing, in which water was free to leave the meat during cooking, the water content decreased approximately 15% over the same temperature range. Researchers modeled the thermal conductivity of the meat as a quadratic function of temperature. They modeled changes in the water content as a linear function of temperature. The solid density increased approximately 6%, and the porosity more than doubled when the temperature increased from 23 C to 85 C. Contact: B.P. Marks, University of Arkansas, Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, 203 Engineering Hall, Fayetteville, AR 72701. Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. Email: [e-mail].