Comparison of Various Types of Starch when Used in Meat Sausages

PII 0309 1740(89)90063 6 Meat Science 25 (1989) 21 36 Comparison of Various Types of Starch when Used in Meat Sausages G Skrede Norwegian Food Research Institute, Oslovn 1, N 1430 Aas, Norway (Receive. Comparison of Various Types of Starch when Used in Meat Sausages

Comparison of Various Types of Starch when Used in

Meat Sausages

G S k r e d e Norwegian Food Research Institute, Oslovn 1, N-1430 Aas,

Norway

(Received 9 June 1988; revised version received 30 September 1988;

accepted 10 November 1988)

A B S T R A C T Technological and sensory properties of meat sausages formulated with 4"0 %

of either potato flour, modified ( aeetylated distarch phosphate) potato starch, wheat, corn or tapioca starch were compared Sausages were analyzed after cooking at temperatures between 65 and 85° C followed by storage at 5°C and -25°C Characteristics evaluated were weight loss during cooking and storage, instrumentally and sensory assessed firmness, taste and smell of sausages The results revealed differences in the suitability of starches for use

in meat sausages Part of the differences could be ascribed to differences in gelatination properties of the starches With the criteria used for evaluating quality, potato flour was rated as the best suited starch followed by wheat starch while tapioca was rated as the least suited Corn starch required cooking temperatures above 75°C and showed relatively low freeze~thaw stability The modified potato starch stored well both above and below the freezing point

I N T R O D U C T I O N

In m a n y countries, starch has traditionally been used in meat products to improve quality and occasionally to extend the m o r e expensive meat fraction o f the product The effect is based on the ability o f starch to gelatinize when heated in a water-containing medium, thereby binding relatively large a m o u n t s o f water (Hodge & Osman, 1976) Gelatination

c a u s e s s w e l l i n g o f starch granules and m a y result in gels when starch

21

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in Great Britain

concentrations are optimal Prior to heating, starch exerts only minimum water-holding capacity

Several types of starch are available for use in meat products They originate from various plant sources; grains (wheat, corn), tubers (potatoes) and roots (tapioca) and traditional use may have been based on geographical conditions rather than real evaluation of the suitability of each type Each starch has its specific characteristics which are reflected in size of native and swollen granules, gelatination temperatures (Swinkels, 1985) and storage ability of swollen granules both above and below freezing temperatures (Baldwin et al., 1972)

In recent years, the choice of starches has been extended by the development of various modified types Chemical modification introduces new substituents in the starch molecules and results in changed technological properties (Howling, 1980) Several of the modified starches have been approved for human consumption (WHO, 1982) and they therefore are interesting for use in meat products

The present investigation was undertaken to compare various types of starch which may be used in meat products The starches were formulated into meat sausages and the effects on technological and sensory properties of sausages were studied Optimal cooking temperatures and storage ability of sausages with each type of starch added, were evaluated

M A T E R I A L S A N D M E T H O D S

Starches

Five types of starch were used in the experiments Those were potato flour (Norwegian potato flour), wheat starch (Latenstein, The Netherlands), corn starch, tapioca starch (Thai Wah Co., Ltd, Thailand) and modified potato starch (X-Amylacetat, Kartofelmelcentralen, Denmark) The modified potato starch was classified as an acetylated distarch phosphate

Starch contents of the various types were determined prior to sausage production, using the method described by Skrede (1983)

Experimental design

In one series of experiments, the influence of cooking temperature for each type of starch was tested Sausages were cooked to a core temperature of 65,

70, 75, 80 or 85°C Sausages were produced from separate batches of raw materials and no direct comparison between starches could be made from this series of experiments

In another series of experiments, starch was added to batter from

homogeneous batches of the raw materials Thus, variation in quality of sausages could be ascribed to the starches and direct comparison between starches could be made Two separate experiments with cooking temperatures of 72 and 78°C were performed

N o starch-free reference sausages were included in the present experiments When sausages are formulated without starch, other components (protein, fat and/or water) must be increased to compensate for the starch proportion Changes in proximate composition influence sausage characteristics and direct comparison between sausages with and without starch is difficult

SausaLge production

Commercial, standardized meat and fat trims were kept frozen ( - 2 0 ° C ) until processing of sausages

In the first series of experiments when the influence of temperature for each :starch was investigated, the formula was:

45% Beef(standard: 15% fat, 18.4% protein, 66% water)

15°,/o Fat of pork (standard: 87.2% fat, 2.8% protein, 10% water) 34°,/0 water

1.8% NaC1

In 1:he second series where different starches were compared-after being added to identical batches of meat minces, the following ingredients were included:

28% Beef (standard: 15% fat, 18.4% protein, 66% water)

72/0 Pork (standard: 27% fat, 15.5% protein, 57% water)

232/0 Fat of pork (standard: 68"7% fat, 6"8% protein, 24% water) 35% skimmed milk

1-8% NaC1

No spices were added in either experiment

Sausage batters for the first experiments were calculated to contain 8-6% protein and 19"9% fat while those for the second experiments contained 8"6 % protein and 21.10/0 fat In the first experiments, the proteins originated from meat only In the second series of experiments, part of the protein originated from milk The first series included a larger proportion of beef fat than the second series

The starch product to be investigated was added up to a starch content of 4"0% This was obtained by applying 4-9 g potato flour, 4.6 g wheat starch, 5.0 g corn starch, 4.7 g tapioca flour or 5" 1 g modified potato starch per 100 g batter

Meat and fat trims for processing were thawed for 2 days at + 4°C prior to grinding (5mm plate) Batters were processed in a Kilia 30-1itre bowl chopper by adding ground meat trims, salt, water or skimmed milk, starch and ground fat trims successively within 5 min The chopper was operated for 2-3 min at high speed; whereafter it was operated at low speed until the core temperature of the batters was 14°C Batters were stuffed into 19/21 mm casings (turkish goat guts) and sausages were cooked in water until desired core temperatures were obtained

After cooking, sausages were cooled for 10 min in water and stored at 5°C until next day when sausages were vacuum-packed (1 mm Hg) in plastic bags Sausages were stored in vacuum-packages at 5°C for 5 and 19 days or

at - 2 5 ° C for 3 months

A n a l y s e s

Cooking loss (%) in sausages during production and liquid exudation (%) from vacuum-packed sausages during storage were determined by weighing Firmness in sausages was determined using an Instron Universal Testing Instrument, model TM-SM (Instron Ltd, Great Britain) equipped with a conical penetrometer of 7 mm upper width and 10 m m height (Andersson & Hansson, 1979) Samples were 3 cm long pieces of sausages with the casing left on Measurements were taken perpendicular to the cut surface Penetration speed was 2.5 cm/min Twelve replicates for each sample were analyzed Firmness was calculated as the average maximum force needed to penetrate the cross-section of the sausages

Sensory analysis was performed using a trained sensory panel of 12 judges Sausages were heated to 65°C core temperature in the vacuum- packages prior to testing Samples (half sausages) were served in a random order and the judges were instructed to remove the casing prior to tasting The properties evaluated were firmness, juiciness, graininess and stickiness along with typical taste and smell, off-taste, off-smell and rancidity A 9- point hedonic scale was used for evaluation, the highest number being used for the highest intensity of each property

Sensory quality index was calculated as the difference between the points given for desired and undesired properties of the sausages according to the following formula:

Sensory quality index = (sensory firmness + juiciness

+ typical taste + typical smell)

- (sensory graininess + stickiness

+ off-taste + off-smell + rancidity) The sensory quality index gives a relative measure of quality and should

be as high as possible

A Lotal quality index which includes cooking loss and liquid exudation, was also calculated Total quality index is a relative measure o f overall starch performance when starch is used in sausage production The index should be as high as possible

Total quality index = sensory quality index

- (% cooking loss + % liquid exudation)

Statistical analysis

D a t a from sensory analysis were subjected to one-way analysis o f variance Tukey's test for multiple comparisons was applied to judge which t r e a t m e n t

effect was significantly different (Scheff6, 1959) The smallest difference (Dso/o)

for two means to be significantly different (P < 0.05) is reported

R E S U L T S

Optimizing cooking temperatures

P o t a t o f l o u r

Results from the analyses o f sausages with p o t a t o flour when cooked to various core temperatures are given in Table 1

C o o k i n g loss o f sausages a n d liquid exudation in vacuum-packages were

TABLE 1

Cooking Loss, Liquid Exudation, Instrumentally Obtained Firmness and Total Quality

Index in Sausages Containing Potato Flour a

Cooking temperature (° C)

Ds~

Cold storage

Frozen storage

a Sausages were cooked at various temperatures and analyses were taken after 5 days at 5°C

or 3 months at -25°C

12 , ~ , ,

Fig 1 Sensory quality index for sausages

with 4.0% potato flour at varying cooking

temperatures after 5 days' storage at 5°C

(A A) and after 3 months at -25°C

10

8

6

4

2

0

i

6 5 7 0 7 5 8 0 8 5

C o o k i n g t e m p e r a t u r e ( ° C )

not systematically influenced by cooking temperature of sausages when potato flour was used The amount of liquid exuded from sausages in vacuum-packages increased when sausages had been frozen

Firmness of sausages increased significantly with increased cooking temperature This was more pronounced after frozen storage of the sausages

Sensory quality index (Fig 1) was not influenced by cooking temperature

of sausages with potato flour as long as sausages had 'not been frozen Included in the index were significant increases in firmness and graininess and significant decreases in juiciness with increasing cooking temperatures After frozen storage, the highest sensory quality indexes were found in sausages with high cooking temperatures (Fig i) The increase in the sensory quality index was partly caused by significantly lower rancidity and better overall taste of sausages at the higher cooking temperatures

Total quality index increased slightly with increasing cooking tem- perature in both cold-stored and frozen-stored sausages (Table 1)

Wheat starch

The amount of liquid exuded from wheat-containing sausages when vacuum-packed, decreased as cooking temperature increased (Table 2) This was found both during storage at 5°C and after sausages had been frozen Frozen storage of sausages caused increased liquid exudation

Firmness of sausages increased significantly with increasing cooking temperature; the effect was most pronounced before sausages were frozen (Table 2) Cooking losses of sausages containing wheat starch were not systematically changed when the cooking temperatures increased

Sensory quality index (Fig 2) was negatively influenced by increases in

TABLE 2

CookirLg Loss, L i q u i d E x u d a t i o n , I n s t r u m e n t a l l y O b t a i n e d F i r m n e s s a n d T o t a l Q u a l i t y

I n d e x in Sausages C o n t a i n i n g W h e a t S t a r c h =

Cooking temperature (° C) Ds~

C o o k i n g loss (%) 6.4 5-9 6.2 8.0 4-8 - -

C o l d storage

L i q u i d e x u d a t i o n (%) 4-4 3"6 2.5 2-6 2'2 1-8

T o t a l quality index - 4-4 - 3.0 - 3.9 - 5"8 - 2-3 - -

F r o z e n storage

Liqulid e x u d a t i o n (%) 6"6 5.3 5"1 3"8 4.3 2.7

Total quality index - 8 " 2 - 6 - 7 - 5 - 9 - 4 0 1.8 - -

" Sausages were c o o k e d a t v a r i o u s t e m p e r a t u r e s a n d analyses were t a k e n after 5 days at 5°C

or 3 m o n t h s at - 2 5 ° C

cooking temperature when sausages were stored at cold-room temperature The negative effects on quality in the cold-stored sausages were partly caused by significant decreases in juiciness and typical smell of sausages at the higher cooking temperatures

After frozen storage, sausages cooked at the higher temperatures were significantly more firm, more juicy, more grainy and had more pronounced typical taste, less off-taste and off-smell than sausages cooked at lower temperatures High cooking temperatures had an overall positive effect on sensory quality index when sausages had been frozen

10

"0

b

~ 2

g

o with 4-0% w h e a t s t a r c h at v a r y i n g c o o k i n g

' ' ~ ~ t e m p e r a t u r e s after 5 days' storage at 5°C

65 zO 75 80 85 ( A A ) a n d after 3 m o n t h s a t - 2 5 ° C

Total quality index (Table 2) increased with increasing cooking temperature in both cold-stored and frozen-stored sausages The positive effect of high cooking temperature was more pronounced after the sausages had been frozen

Corn starch

In Table 3 analytical data from sausages containing corn starch are presented

Cooking loss and liquid exudation were not systematically influenced by the cooking temperature of the sausages Freezing caused increased amounts of liquid to exude from sausages stored in vacuum-packages Sensory quality indexes (Fig 3) for both cold-stored and frozen-stored sausages were extremely susceptible to changes in cooking temperatures when corn starch was used The sharp increase in sensory quality between cooking temperatures of 70 and 75°C was caused by significant increases in firmness, typical taste and smell of sausages along with decreases in graininess, stickiness, off-taste and off-smell of the sausages After sausages had been frozen, significant decreases in juiciness and rancidity with increased cooking temperatures also influenced sensory quality index

Fig 3 Sensory quality index for sausages

with 4.0% corn starch at varying cooking

temperatures after 5 days' storage at 5°C

(A A) and after 3 months at - 2 5 ° C

c r

q ~

C O

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

- 2

- 4

-6

- 8

i i i

Cooking temperature ( ° C )

TABLE 3

Cooking Loss, Liquid Exudation, Instrumentally Obtained Firmness and Total Quality

Index in Sausages Containing Corn Starch Q

Cooking temperature (° C) Ds~

Cold storage

Liqu:id exudation (%) 2'7 3'7 2-6 2"5 2-2 4"0

Total quality index - 12'9 - 13"0 5'8 9"0 8'2 - - Frozen storage

Liquid exudation (%) 5.7 6'9 5.2 4.8 5"2 3.4

Total quality index - 13.5 - 14-2 -0.5 3-0 1"5 - -

a Sausages were cooked at various temperatures and analyses were taken after 5 days at 5°C

or 3 months at -25°C

Total quality index (Table 3) also d e m o n s t r a t e d the highly p r o n o u n c e d increa,;e in quality o f b o t h cold-stored and frozen-stored sausages at cooking temperatures o f 75°C and higher

Tapioca starch

W h e n tapioca starch was used, cooking loss o f sausages and liquid exudation from sausages during cold storage decreased with increasing cooking temperatures (Table 4) Freezing did not cause changes in the

a m o u n t o f liquid exuded in vacuum-packages

Firmness o f sausages increased significantly when the cooking tem- perature was raised This was found in both cold-stored and frozen-stored sausages

All sensory parameters tested in cold-stored sausages, except typical taste and off-taste, changed significantly with changing cooking temperature After frozen storage, significant changes in all sensory properties except off- smell were found The overall effect was a slight decrease in the sensory quality indexes (Fig 4)

N o systematic changes in total quality index with cooking temperature were observed (Table 4) The total quality index was lowest at 80°C

Modified potato starch

In sau:~ages c o n t a i n i n g modified p o t a t o starch (acetylated distarch phosphate), high c o o k i n g temperatures had a positive effect on cooking losses and the a m o u n t o f liquid exuded from sausages u p o n storage in

T A B L E 4

Cooking Loss, Liquid Exudation, Instrumentally Obtained Firmness and Total Quality

Index in Sausages Containing Tapioca Starch a

Cooking temperature (° C)

Dso/,~

Cold storage

Liquid exudation (%) 4.0 2"3 1.8 2.1 1"2 0'7

Total quality index - 2 ' 4 - 0 9 - 0 6 - 2 - 7 - 1 1 - - Frozen storage

Total quality index 0.4 0.5 - 0 2 - 1.1 0"6 - -

a Sausages were cooked at various temperatures and analyses were taken after 5 days at 5°C

or 3 months at - 2 5 ° C

vacuum-packages (Table 5) Sausages cooked at 75°C were most firm Both lower and higher cooking temperatures caused less firm sausages

Sensory quality indexes of both cold-stored and frozen-stored sausages increased sharply between 65 and 70°C and between 80 and 85°C when modified potato starch was used (Fig 5) The increases were caused by significant changes in all sensory parameters analyzed

Total quality indexes of sausages increased as the cooking temperature increased (Table 5)

Fig 4 Sensory quality index for sausages

with 4-0% tapioca starch at varying cooking

temperatures after 5 days' storage at 5°C

( A A) and after 3 months at - 2 5 ° C

12

10

8

6

4

2

CO

65 70 75 80 85 Cooking temperature ( ° C )