Quality and microstructural changes in goat meat during heat treatment.

Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) was used to study the structure of the semi-membranous muscle of goat meat during heat treatment. The four treatments examined were raw (control), conventional heating, domestic microwave heating and industrial microwave heating. The ESEM showed shrinkage and denaturation in muscle fibers after cooking by the various methods. No surface damage was observed in any image for conventional heating. More structural damage was observed in microwave heating at both domestic (700 W) and industrial (12,000 W) levels. The pattern of distribution in microwave heating caused surface damage to muscle fiber with separation of some portions and denaturation of collagen.