Evaluating Energy Consumption and Thermophysical Characteristics of Camel (Camelus dromedarius) Meat Cooked Using a Newly Developed Ohmic-Sous Vide Cooking System.

Abstract

This study focused on developing an innovative cooking technique for camel meat by integrating ohmic heating with sous vide (SV) cooking. The newly developed ohmic-sous vide (OSV) system, featuring automated temperature control and SV pouches, was evaluated against the conventional SV method. Performance was assessed based on energy parameters and thermophysical characteristics at various cooking temperatures (70°C, 80°C, and 90°C) and durations (30, 60, 90, and 120 min). The results demonstrated that the OSV system required significantly less energy and preheating time compared to the traditional SV method, achieving superior energy efficiency. While final meat yields were comparable between the two methods, energy efficiency for OSV cooking reached 80.3% at 70°C after 30 min, compared to 58.36% for the SV method. At 80°C, the energy efficiencies were 75.77% for OSV cooking compared to 51.19% for SV, and at 90°C, they were 70.97% versus 44.30%, respectively. Additionally, thermophysical properties of camel meat, including thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, specific heat, density, and cooking yield, showed significant decreases as cooking temperature and time increased for both cooking methods. Notably, camel meat prepared using OSV exhibited lower thermal conductivity and density than that cooked with SV, reflecting structural changes that may enhance tenderness and juiciness. These findings suggest that the integrated OSV technique offers promising energy efficiency benefits in the culinary meat industry, highlighting the need for further research into its broader applications and advantages.