راضیه دیدار

Meat products are a major part of the world’s food consumption. Due to the desire of consumers to natural and healthier food products, meat industry and industry experts are looking for solutions to produce products with lower amount of fat and nitrite. Therefore, this study is aimed to produce plant-based sausages using Konjac gum and to evaluate its physicochemical, rheological and sensory properties. For this purpose, different concentrations of Konjac gum (0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1%) was used and compared with the control sample (without gum). The results showed that by adding Konjac to the sausages, the amount of moisture and texture characteristics (firmness, cohesiveness and chewiness) increased compare to the control sample, while pH, water activity and cooking loss of the samples significantly decreased (p<0.5). Also, the results of color evaluation showed an increase in the Lightness index and in sensory evaluation, the sample containing 0.5% of Konjac gum had the highest score. Therefore, by using Konjac gum in vegetable-based sausages, it is possible to produce products that are low in fat and also have no nitrite that in addition to having acceptable physicochemical, textural and sensory characteristics, it is also nutritionally important.