The effect of radio frequency (RF) cooking, on the quality (assessed by cook yield, water holding capacity (WHC). texture profile analysis (TPA), penetration test (PT), Warner Bratzler shear (WB), colour and sensory evaluation) and cooking time of two types of pork products (leg ham and shoulder ham) were compared to steam (ST) cooked samples. RF cooking of the hams resulted in a shorter cooking time (42 min for leg and shoulder pork ham in RF compared to 132 min for leg ham and 127 min for shoulder ham in ST). Instrumental measurements indicated that RF heated samples had a higher cook yield (P < 0.05), but a lower WHC (P < 0.05). TPA indicated that RF cooked samples were harder (P < 0.05) for leg hams. A sensory panel also indicated that panellists could distinguish between RF and ST cooked samples (P < 0.05). (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.