Research Note: Producing lean poultry meat composite gels with different carbohydrate-based breadcrumbs

The effects of using different breadcrumbs (3 wheat, 2 gluten-free: pea and rice) to improve yield and modify the texture of a lean poultry product were evaluated. All breadcrumbs significantly reduced cooking loss (P < 0.05), with one of the wheat crumbs showing the best results (35% reduction). Light microscopy revealed that breadcrumbs were well connected to the cooked meat matrix, and fully hydrated, that is, forming well-structured composite gels. The presence of breadcrumbs resulted in lower hardness, chewiness, and gumminess values of 3 of the treatments (compared to the control with no breadcrumbs), while the other 2 did not affect those parameters. Overall, selected breadcrumbs that are commonly used in ground beef products can be employed to improve yield/modify texture in poultry products but have to be selected to address certain needs.

Effects of plant and dairy proteins on the texture and microstructure of lean turkey meat batters

The effect of using non-meat proteins (pea, faba, rice, whey, and caseinate; 2% level) on the texture, yield, and structure of lean turkey meat batters was compared to an all-meat control and a control with 2% added meat proteins. The best overall proteins were caseinate (animal derived) and pea (plant derived) which reduced cooking loss (P < 0.05, 60% compared to the two controls), while also increasing hardness over the first control treatment. Rice protein also increased hardness (P < 0.05) but did not reduce cooking loss compared to the first control. Part of this could also be seen under the microscope, where the caseinate and faba treatments showed denser microstructure compared to the rice and whey protein treatments; both had higher cooking loss. Overall, the meat industry is continuously searching for non-meat ingredients to enhance texture and yield and this study provides ranking of some new protein preparations.

Low-sodium meat products: retaining salty taste for sweet health

There is a positive correlation between excessive intake of sodium and incidence of hypertension. As diet is the main source of sodium, awareness among people regarding its possible role upon health has driven demand for various low sodium foods including meat products. Meat products contribute a significant amount of dietary sodium, thus maligning their own image. However, this is not an easy task as common salt affects taste and flavor, functional attributes, stability, and food safety of meat products. The various properties such as taste and flavor, binding, as well as microbiological characteristics should be given due care while developing low salt meat products and accordingly different approaches have been proposed for processing of such products. Potassium chloride has been mostly used to replace sodium; however, a number of other salts, flavor enhancers, bitter blockers and water, as well as fat binders have also been attempted either alone or in different combinations. A number of low sodium meat products have been developed but their economy and consumer acceptability are the major concerns needing proper attention. In future it is anticipated that these challenges would be overcome to provide well acceptable and cost-effective healthier meat products to the consumers.

Effects of milk powder and its components on texture, yield, and color of a lean poultry meat model system

The effects of whole milk powder, 2 skim milk powders, caseinate, and 2 modified whey proteins (2% protein level in the final product) were evaluated in lean chicken meat batters and compared with controls with and without added lactose. All dairy proteins significantly (P<0.05) reduced cook losses when compared against the controls, with the 2 skim milk powders and modified whey-I showing the best results. Hardness and fracturability were also higher for all test batters compared with controls. Skim milk-II showed the highest fracturability value (21.9 vs. 7.1 N for the control) and was also found to be the most cost-effective ingredient for improving moisture binding and texture; skim milk-I and modified whey-I followed behind. Springiness and fracture distance were higher for all of the dairy proteins, except caseinate, indicating a positive contribution to the lean meat system's elasticity. In terms of color, adding the skim milk powders, modified whey-II, and whole milk powder resulted in lighter cooked meat batters as evidenced by the higher L* values and higher spectra curves.

Effect of hydrolysed and regular dairy proteins on the texture, colour and microstructure of poultry meat emulsions

1. The effects of 2% whole milk proteins, milk protein's two major components (caseinate and whey) and some of their fractions (beta-lactoglobulin and two hydrolysed whey proteins) were evaluated in a frankfurter-type product made from mechanically deboned chicken meat. 2. Adding caseinate, regular whey protein and the two whey protein hydrolysates (WPH-I and II) significantly reduced cooking loss compared to the control; lowest reduction was obtained with the two hydrolysates. 3. Caseinate and regular whey increased hardness, but WPH-I and II substantially reduced hardness, fracturability and springiness. 4. The more hydrolysed whey (8.5% vs 5.2%; WPH-II vs WPH-I, respectively) caused a greater disruption to texture, which could be explained by the light micrographs showing an interference with meat protein binding. 5. The most cost-effective ingredient tested here was the caseinate.

Use of cold-set whey protein gelation to improve poultry meat batters

The effect of using preheated whey protein isolate (WPI) to replace part of the poultry meat proteins in batters formulated with different salt levels was studied. Substitution with 2% preheated whey proteins followed by cold set gelation (16 h at 1 C) significantly (P < 0.05) improved binding and water holding capacity of the raw batters. In the cooked state, WPI substitution reduced cook loss and improved textural parameters, especially at < or = 1.5% salt. Unheated whey proteins (i.e., lacking the ability to gel at low temperature) did not exhibit a negative effect on the texture of the cooked batters, but reduced water holding capacity of the raw batters. Overall, cold setting of WPI improved the binding of raw and cooked meat batters, particularly at low salt level.