Table 1.

Color values of thawed beef samples

Thawing condition	L*	a*	b*	ΔE
Fresh beef	33.43±0.37a	27.30±0.13c	10.40±0.28c	−
Refrigerator	33.55±0.40a**	28.12±0.45b	10.25±0.76c	0.72±0.13c*
Cold water	33.50±0.11a**	28.93±0.33b	10.38±0.12c	0.82±0.06b
Room temperature	32.43±0.39b**	28.83±0.36b	11.29±0.09b	1.41±0.08a**
Microwave oven	32.21±0.16b	28.03±0.21b	11.13±0.38b	0.84±0.90b
Refrigerator II	32.06±0.33b	28.09±0.73b	11.39±0.53ab**	0.31±0.08c
Cold water II	32.38±0.43b	29.63±0.28a**	11.18±0.43b**	1.59±0.11a**
Room temperature II	31.98±0.31c	29.44±0.56a**	11.90±0.08a	0.85±0.06b

Values are presented as mean±SD (n=3).

II implies that thawing time was twice the normal thawing time.

Different letters (a-c) indicate a significant difference within the same column (P<0.05).

Means are significantly different between samples thawed for normal and prolonged time by t-test (*P<0.05, **P<0.01).