ABSTRACT
I. INTERMEDIATE-MOISTURE MEATS AND DEHYDRATED MEATS Intermediate-moisture (IM) meat contains 15% to 50% moisture, and dried meat products contain even less moisture. They have a water activity (aw) value of 0.60 to 0.92. IM meat products are shelf-stable without refrigeration or thermal processing, and some can be eaten raw without rehydration or cooking. These dehydrated meat products usually are resistant to bacterial spoilage because of their low water activity and fairly high salt content. Some are fairly tough, with poor texture. However, some are highly palatable and are even considered delicacies. Freeze-dried meat products are very porous in nature and can be rehydrated to almost the original shape. Intermediate moisture meats and dried meats can be categorized into two groups: intact muscle-based product and the emulsion-type sausage. Each group can be further subcategorized by the form because many are similar products produced in different cultures. Table 1 is a summary of selected dried or intermediate-moisture meat products. Dehydrated and freeze-dried raw or cooked meats are resistant to bacterial spoilage but have poor texture and are sometimes expensive to prepare, such as freeze-dried meat products. This section will cover some of the traditional IM and dried meat products and their production processes, as well as the production of freeze-dried meat products.
