Effect of Edible Gums on the Qualities of Sausage of <em>Pleurotus eryngii</em>

Abstract

Pleurotus eryngii, also named king oyster mushroom, is a fast developing mushroom in recent years. This study employed P. eryngii as the main material to make sausage-like gel food. The effects of the kinds, addition method and amount and compound of edible gums on the qualities of P. eryngii sausage were investigated. The results showed that adding optimal edible gum can improve textural and sensory properties, increase water holding capacity and reduce cooking loss of P. eryngii sausage. During nine test edible gums, carageenan exhibited the best influence on sausage's quality on the whole. Carageenan should been added at the powder form and the optimal concentration was 0.6% for mushroom pulp. Compound 0.4% carageenan with 0.2% konjac gum produced better qualities than 0.6% carageenan only. The optimal ingredient for P. eryngii sausage was: mushroom pulp 100%, soy protein 15%, corn starch 10%, chicken 18%, carageenan 0.4%, konjac gum 0.2%, sugar 0.7%, salt 1.3%, oil 5% and spices 1.4%. The interior of sausage presented a good network structure and a stable gel system observed by environmental scanning electron microscope. This study shows that sausage preparation is a feasible and potential method for the processing of P. eryngii.