Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to study the structural changes during dry-cured ham manufacturing. T₁, T₂ and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were determined. Dry cured hams were analysed at different steps of the manufacturing process (raw, salted, post salted, half-cured and cured). Structural changes were linked with the rheological behaviour, estimated by texture profile analysis (TPA) performed in three different muscles of hams (semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). A decrease for T₁, T₂ and ADC parameters during the curing process was observed, connected to the dehydration kinetics and salt diffusion. Curing process increased hardness and chewiness and reduced elasticity and cohesiveness. Mathematical models were defined to obtain useful equations to monitor ripening. Multiple and simple linear regression models were performed to predict water and salt content and rheological features evolution through MRI parameters. Best settings were achieved with water and salt content for the three studied muscles (R² around 0.90). T₁, T₂ and ADC showed a negative correlation with hardness and a positive relation with springiness and cohesiveness.

磁共振成像（MRI）用于研究火腿干制过程中的结构变化。确定了T ₁，T ₂和表观扩散系数（ADC）。在制造过程的不同步骤（未加工的，腌制的，腌制后的，半熟的和腌制的）对干腌火腿进行分析。结构变化与流变行为有关，通过在火腿的三种不同肌肉（半膜肌，半腱肌和股二头肌）中进行的质构分析（TPA）进行估算。T ₁，T ₂和ADC的减小在固化过程中观察到一些参数，这些参数与脱水动力学和盐扩散有关。固化过程增加了硬度和耐嚼性，并降低了弹性和内聚力。定义了数学模型以获得有用的方程式来监控成熟度。进行了多个简单的线性回归模型，以通过MRI参数预测水和盐含量以及流变特性的演变。对于三个研究过的肌肉，水和盐含量达到最佳设置（R ²约为0.90）。T ₁，T ₂和ADC与硬度呈负相关，与弹性和内聚性呈正相关。