Spent yeast extract in cooked hams: texture and storage
What it found
Adding 1% spent brewer's yeast extract to cooked hams made them harder and chewier and raised protein and free amino acid levels.
The effect held up over 90 days of storage.
What they found
Texture changes
Hams with the yeast extract were harder and chewier than control hams. This was due to a stronger gel formed during cooking.
Protein and ash
The yeast extract raised the ash, protein and free amino acid content of the cooked hams.
Volatile compounds
The mix of volatile compounds was similar overall, though some amounts differed between treated and control hams.
Cooking time
Cooking for longer than 1.5 hours gave no benefits for the hams.
Storage stability
After 12 and 90 days, physical and sensory measures were about the same for hams with the yeast extract. Some compounds like His, aldehydes and esters went up by the end of storage, in both treated and control hams.
What the authors conclude
“This additive acts as gel stabilizer for cooked ham production and could potentially improve other processing characteristics.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say the yeast extract acts as a gel stabilizer for cooked ham production.
- They suggest it could potentially improve other processing characteristics.
How it was done
They made cooked hams with and without 1% spent yeast extract, cooking them for 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 or 3 hours. They then checked physical, chemical and sensory qualities at 12 and 90 days of storage.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This study looked only at cooked hams, not at how yeast extract affects people who eat them.
- It cannot show whether the texture and storage changes would be the same in other foods.
The paper
- Title
- Spent brewer's yeast extract as an ingredient in cooked hams
- Type
- Study
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Pancrazio G, Cunha SC, de Pinho PG, et al (2016). Spent brewer's yeast extract as an ingredient in cooked hams. Meat science. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2016.07.009PubMed 27449232DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error