Composite Gel Fabricated with Konjac Glucomannan and Carrageenan Could Be Used as a Cube Fat Substitute to Partially Replace Pork Fat in Harbin Dry Sausages.

Jiaxin Chen,Xin Li,Jinhai Zhao,Qian Liu,Baohua Kong

doi:10.3390/foods10071460

Abstract

The effect of the partial replacement of pork back-fat with a cube fat substitute (CFS) fabricated from konjac glucomannan and carrageenan on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of Harbin dry sausages during 7 days of fermentation was investigated. There were the following five treatments: control (100% back-fat), FS1 (80% back-fat, 20% CFS), FS2 (60% back-fat, 40% CFS), FS3 (40% back-fat, 60% CFS) and FS4 (20% back-fat, 80% CFS). The results showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the physicochemical and sensory characteristics among the control, FS1 and FS2 treatments. However, higher replacement levels (60% and 80%) rendered higher degrees of change in the characteristics of the sausages, lowering the moisture content and aw and increasing the pH, hardness, chewiness and atypical appearance at the end of fermentation. Moreover, electronic nose analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis demonstrated that the FS3 and FS4 treatments destroyed the characteristic quality of the sausage. Overall, our results indicated that, to ensure the traditional characteristics of Harbin dry sausages, the upper limit of the fat replacement level with CFS should be set at 40%.

Highlights

Harbin dry sausage is characterised by its unique texture and flavour and is the most popular traditional fermented meat product in Northeast China [1]
It is necessary to reduce the pork back-fat content of Harbin dry sausages to ensure the healthy diet of consumers
In our previous study, the best physicochemical and sensory properties were found in the gel cube fat substitutes (CFS) prepared with konjac glucomannan and κ-carrageenan, and the CFS conferred sensory properties of juiciness and texture similar to that of fat [18]. The objective of this current study is to explore the effect of CFS as a fat replacer on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of low-fat Harbin dry sausages

Summary

Introduction

Harbin dry sausage is characterised by its unique texture and flavour and is the most popular traditional fermented meat product in Northeast China [1]. The average pork back-fat content in the dry sausages can be as high as 30% by the end of the fermentation process. It is generally known that animal fats confer favourable quality and acceptability properties (such as aroma, texture and mouthfeel) to fermented dry sausages [2]. Dietary guidelines prepared by the World Health Organization [6] state that consumers need to be aware of the dangers of excessive fat intake and daily fat intake should not exceed 30% of the total calories. The “Chinese Dietary Guidelines” suggest that daily fat intake should be between 20 and 25% of the total calories [7]. It is necessary to reduce the pork back-fat content of Harbin dry sausages to ensure the healthy diet of consumers

Objectives

Methods

Results