Partial replacement of fat with oat and wheat bran gels: Optimization study based on rheological and textural properties

Effect of Pink Perch Gelatin on Physiochemical, Textural, Sensory, and Storage Characteristics of Ready-to-Cook Low-Fat Chicken Meatballs

In recent years consumer demand for low-fat convenience food is increasing rapidly. This study was designed to develop low-fat ready-to-cook (RTC) chicken meatballs using pink perch gelatin. Meatballs were prepared using different concentrations of fish gelatin (3%, 4%, 5%, and 6%). The effect of fish gelatin content on the physico-chemical, textural, cooking, and sensory properties of meatballs was studied. Further, the shelf-life of meatballs was also studied at 4 °C for 15 days and -18 °C for 60 days. The addition of fish gelatin to meatballs decreased the fat content by 67.2% and 79.7% and increased the protein content by 20.1% and 66.4% in comparison to control and Branded Meatballs, respectively. As compared to the Control Meatballs, the addition of fish gelatin also reduced hardness by 26.4% and increased yield and moisture retention in the RTC meatballs by 15.4% and 20.9%, respectively. Sensory analysis suggested that a 5% fish gelatin addition in meatballs has the best acceptability among all tested treatments. Storage study indicated that the addition of fish gelatin to RTC meatballs delayed lipid oxidation during both refrigerated and frozen storage. The results suggested that pink perch gelatin can be used as a fat replacer in chicken meatballs and can potentially increase their shelf-life.

Gelling and bile acid binding properties of gelatin-alginate gels with interpenetrating polymer networks by double cross-linking

Interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) is an effective method to improve functional properties of hydrogels by forming cross-linking networks. In this study, the gelatin-alginate gels formed by the combination of enzymatic and ionic cross-linking were called IPN gels. Meanwhile, the gels with the treatment of only transglutaminase (TG) or Ca²⁺ were named as G-semi-IPN and A-semi-IPN, respectively. The formation of semi-IPN and IPN was confirmed by studies on rheology, thermodynamics and micro-morphology. The results showed that the IPN gels had improved gelling properties and structural stability. The functional properties of different gelatin-alginate gels were also investigated. It was firstly found that the IPN gels could enhance mechanical properties, decrease swelling capacity and had better bile acid binding capacity. These results of gelatin-alginate gels provide references and novel prospects of IPN for the application in the field of food industry.