THERMORHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES AND COOKING YIELD OF SAUSAGE-TYPE PRODUCTS AS AFFECTED BY LEVELS OF FAT AND ADDED-WATER

Consumer interest in low fat foods has led meat processors to introduc e low fat sausages with high added-water. The purpose of this study wa s to use dynamic thermo-rheological techniques to study the influence of fat and added water on sausage batters and cooking yields during he ating. Twenty different sausage batters were formulated to 15-30% fat and 18-35% added water. Batters were heated in a thermal scanning rheo meter from 20-80C in increments of 1C/min. Rheograms of all barters sh owed a gradual decrease in storage modulus (G') as temperature increas ed from 20-59C. Significant changes in G' occurred in the range of 60- 75C leading to the formation of rigid gel networks. Batters with level s of fat less than or equal to 24% and added water > 24% or levels of fat and added water greater than or equal to 27% showed increased cook ing yields. Rheological measurements suggested that levels of added wa ter influenced the G' of batters during heating and that high levels o f added water could be used in sausage formulations without adversely affecting product yield.