Modified wheat gluten and boiling resistance in pork meatballs
What it found
In lab tests, pork meatballs made with modified wheat gluten lost less water and held together better after boiling at 100 °C.
The modified gluten was made using an enzyme and a cross-linking step.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Less cooking loss
After 30 minutes of boiling, meatballs with modified wheat gluten lost 49.16% less weight during cooking than meatballs with no added extender.
Better water holding
The water-holding capacity of meatballs with modified wheat gluten rose from 80.68% to 95.42%.
Firmer texture
Hardness, springiness and chewiness all increased in meatballs with modified wheat gluten, by 97.05%, 6.68% and 121.96% respectively.
More cross-linking
The modified wheat gluten increased cross-linking in the meatballs during cooking, shown by a higher G' value.
Protein interaction
SDS-PAGE showed a clear drop in myosin heavy chain in meatballs with modified wheat gluten after 30 minutes at 100 °C. This was put down to the pork muscle proteins interacting with the modified wheat gluten.
Water state and structure
Nuclear magnetic resonance showed more bound water and less free water in meatballs with modified wheat gluten. Under the microscope, these meatballs had the most regular and compact network.
What the authors conclude
“Therefore, MWG could be used as an ingredient to facilitate the processing of meat products.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that modified wheat gluten could be used as an ingredient to help process meat products.
How it was done
Scientists made modified wheat gluten using an enzyme (alcalase) and a cross-linking step (transglutaminase). They added it to pork meatballs and boiled them at 100 °C for increasing times, comparing them with meatballs containing soy protein isolates or raw wheat gluten, and with meatballs with no added extender.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These tests were done on meatballs in a lab, not in people. They can't show what happens when someone eats them.
- The study only looked at boiling at 100 °C. It can't show how the meatballs behave with other cooking methods.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, China; Key Laboratory for Agricultural Products Processing of Anhui Province, China
The paper
- Title
- Effect of Modified Wheat Gluten on Boiling Resistance Capacity of Pork Meatballs
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Wang KQ, Luo SZ, Zhong XY, et al (2016). Effect of Modified Wheat Gluten on Boiling Resistance Capacity of Pork Meatballs. Journal of food science. doi:10.1111/1750-3841.13207PubMed 26766497DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error