Food-grade filler particles as an alternative method to modify the texture and stability of myofibrillar gels

Andrew J Gravelle,Alejandro G Marangoni,Shai Barbut

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-11711-1

Andrew J Gravelle, Alejandro G Marangoni + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-11711-1

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Journal: Scientific Reports	Publication Date: Sep 14, 2017
Citations: 32	License type: open-access

Affiliation: University of Guelph

Abstract

A series of food grade particles were characterized for their potential as fillers in myofibrillar gels. The fillers were separated into (i) hydrophilic, insoluble, crystalline particles and (ii) starch granules. The particles used were microcrystalline cellulose, oat fiber and walnut shell flour, as well as potato and tapioca starches. Crystalline particles increased hardness and decreased recovery properties. Although all of these fillers decreased the T2 relaxation time of water, this was dependent on particle type and size. An increase in gel strength was observed with increasing filler content, which was attributed to particle crowding. Native potato starch was the most efficient at increasing liquid retention, while native tapioca was the least effective. Gel strength increased significantly only for the native potato and modified tapioca starches, but no effect on recovery attributes were observed for any of the starch varieties. The potato starches became swollen and hydrated to a similar extent during the protein gelation process, while the native tapioca starch gelatinized at higher temperatures, and the modified tapioca showed little evidence of swelling. T2 relaxometry supported this finding, as the meat batters containing native potato starch displayed two water populations, while the remaining starches displayed only a single population.

Highlights

Comminuted meat products such as frankfurter-type sausages and bologna can be described as a discrete fat phase embedded in a thermally-set protein gel network[1, 2]
This result is in line with previous work published by our group using hydrophilic glass microspheres of varying sizes as model filler particles in comminuted chicken meat batters[25, 27]
As all of the particles presented in Fig. 1 were selected for their crystalline nature and insolubility in water, the influence of the ~15 μm Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC)-105 particles can likely be attributed to their smaller size, and the associated increased surface area available to interact with water

Summary

Introduction

Comminuted meat products such as frankfurter-type sausages and bologna can be described as a discrete fat phase embedded in a thermally-set protein gel network[1, 2]. Our group demonstrated that incorporating micron-sized glass beads in a lean comminuted chicken meat batter can serve to enhance the performance of the resulting composite gel by providing support to the capillary network[25] The addition of these particles as a model insoluble hydrophilic filler dramatically decreased liquid expulsion and improved the integrity of the protein gel network; i.e. increased texture profile analysis (TPA) parameters and decreased the occurrence of microfractures induced by fluid migration. If the granules maintain some crystallinity and structural integrity, it may be useful to interpret their influence on the meat protein gel in terms of particle-filled composite materials To this end, native potato and tapioca starches were selected as fillers, as they vary in both size and gelatinization temperature. A modified version of each starch variety was investigated, to determine how modifying the gelatinization temperature affected their impact on the composite meat protein gel

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