Foodservice managers strive to control factors that affect yield, serving cost, and palatability
of beef. Beef roasts are traditionally roasted at temperatures from 325°F to 350°F
for both home and institutional use. Roasts relatively high in connective tissue cooked
with moist heat generally are more tender than when cooked with dry heat. Roasts
cooked to 150, 160, or 170°F could be expected to have cooking losses ranging from
20% to over 40%. The issue of cooking loss led Winston Industries to develop the CVap
Cook and Hold Vapor Oven (Winston Industries, Louisville, KY). CVap technology
controls evaporation by creating a moist environment, which creates an opposing vapor
pressure that minimizes moisture loss and should improve cooking yields. The objectives
of our research were to compare the effects of moist-heat cookery in a CVap oven
and dry-heat cookery in a Blodgett forced-air convection oven on cooked yield, cooked
color, tenderness, and sensory attributes of beef roasts differing in connective tissue
content cooked to different endpoint temperatures.
