Production of Low-Fat Frankfurter Sausage Using a New Fat Replacer: Reconstituted Agar Hydrogel

There is a growing trend towards healthy meat products containing lower fat content. The use of fat replacers can solve the quality problems of low-fat products. This study aimed to produce low-fat frankfurter sausage using a new fat replacer. Thus, in the first stage, Reconstituted Agar Hydrogel (RAH) was produced by adding water to agar cryogel after homogenization. In the second stage, RAH was used as a fat substitute in frankfurter sausage at 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%. Then, the characteristics of the resulting low-fat sausage, including chemical composition, water holding capacity, cooking loss, texture characteristics, porosity, color, percentage of fat after frying, oil absorption, pH over time, and sensory evaluation were examined. Results showed that RAH could form two kinds of gel by temperature changes: a low-set gel at 55˚C and a high-set gel at 90˚C. Substitution of oil in the sausages caused an increase in moisture content, porosity, oil absorption, and cooking loss. On the other hand, this replacement reduced fat content, cutting force, water-holding capacity, fat percentage after frying, and texture properties such as hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, gumminess, and chewiness. The results of pH measurements over time showed that sulfated antimicrobial groups in the agar structure delayed the spoilage of sausages containing RAH compared to the control sample. Sensory evaluation showed that RAH-containing sausages were not significantly different from the control sample in terms of color, juiciness, and texture. However, flavor and overall acceptance increased significantly under the influence of this substitution (P< 0.05). Therefore, the consumers selected a sample with 25% replacement as the optimal sample. As a result, RAH can be successfully used as a fat replacer in low-fat products with desirable quality characteristics.

Production of Low-Fat Frankfurter Sausage Using a New Fat Replacer: Reconstituted Agar Hydrogel Keywords:

Agar cryogel , Fat substitute , Low-fat sausage , Reconstituted hydrogel.