Effect of Time and Temperature on Physicochemical and Microbiological Properties of Sous Vide Chicken Breast Fillets

Temperature and time are two critical parameters in sous vide cooking which directly affect
eating quality characteristics and food safety. This study aimed to evaluate physicochemical and
microbiological properties of sous vide chicken breast fillets cooked at twelve different combinations
of temperature (60, 70, and 80 C) and time (60, 90, 120, and 150 min). The results showed that
cooking temperature played a major role in the moisture content, cooking loss, pH, a* color value,
shear force, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Increasing cooking temperature
caused an increase in cooking loss, lipid oxidation, TBARS, and pH, while moisture content was
reduced (p < 0.05). Cooking time played a minor role and only moisture content, cooking loss, and a*
color value were affected by this parameter (p < 0.05). Total mesophilic aerobic bacteria, Psychrotrophic
bacteria, and Enterobacteriaceae were not detected during 21 days of storage at 4 C. Cooking at 60 C
for 60 min showed the optimum combination of temperature and time for sous vide cooked chicken
breast fillets. The result of this study could be interesting for catering, restaurants, ready-to-eat
industries, and homes to select the optimum combination of temperature and time for improving the
eating quality characteristics and ensuring microbiological safety.