Variations in Internal Color of Cooked Beef Patties

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Abstract
Seventeen commercially prepared patty formulations were cooked to internal temperature 71°C. Pink cooked color occurred in eight of the products and was due to incomplete denaturation of myoglobin. Although there was some relation between pH and cooked color, other factors seemed to be involved. When products were re‐analyzed after 1 yr storage at ‐27°C, sixteen products were red/pink when cooked to 71°C. This increase in redness after frozen storage could not be explained. Cooking to internal temperatures between 81 and 87°C was necessary for complete disappearance of red/pink color. Premature browning, where a product looks well‐done at temperatures lower than 71°C, occurred in one formulation.