ABSTRACT
The use of nitrite as a conventional curing agent is decreasing because of the negative consumer perception of synthetic compounds in foods. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of dongchimi as an alternative to synthetic nitrite and its effect on the qualitative properties of emulsion-type sausages. Under all tested fermentation conditions, both nitrite and nitrate contents were the highest when dongchimi was fermented at 0°C for 1 wk. The fermented dongchimi was powdered and added to the sausages. Emulsion-type sausages were prepared with 0.25% (treatment 1), 0.35% (treatment 2), 0.45% (treatment 3), or 0.55% (treatment 4) dongchimi powder, with 0.01% sodium nitrite-treated (control 1) and 0.40% celery powder-treated (control 2) sausages as controls. There were not different (p>0.05) in the pH, cooking yield, CIE L*, and CIE a* between the control 1 and treatments 2, 3, and 4. CIE b* was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the control 2 and lower (p<0.05) in the control 1 than that in the other groups. Treatment 4 and control 1 had similar contents of residual nitrite, nitrosyl hemochrome, and total pigment. Additionally, treatment 4 exhibited a significantly better (p<0.05) curing efficiency than the control 1. However, naturally cured sausages showed higher (p<0.05) lipid oxidation than the control 1. This study suggests that the use of more than 0.35% dongchimi powder could replace sodium nitrite or celery powder as curing agents for emulsion-type sausages.
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the effects of Chinese cabbage powder as a natural replacement for sodium nitrite on the qualities of alternatively cured pork products. Chinese cabbages grown in Korea were collected and used for preparing hot air dried powder. Different levels of Chinese cabbage powder were added to pork products and evaluated by comparing these products to those with sodium nitrite or a commercially available celery juice powder. The experimental groups included control (100 ppm sodium nitrite added), treatment 1 (0.15% Chinese cabbage powder added), treatment 2 (0.25% Chinese cabbage powder added), treatment 3 (0.35% Chinese cabbage powder added), and treatment 4 (0.4% celery juice powder added). The cooking yields and pH values of treatments 1 to 3 were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the control. However, all of the alternatively cured products were redder (higher CIE a* values; p<0.05) than the control and this result was supported from higher nitrosyl hemochrome, total pigment, and curing efficiency. Furthermore, the inclusion of vegetable powders to these products resulted in considerably less residual nitrite content. However, Chinese cabbage powder (0.25% and 0.35%) was effective in producing alternatively cured meat products with a higher curing efficiency comparable to those of the traditionally cured control or the products with celery juice powder. Therefore, Chinese cabbage powder exhibited the efficacy for use as a natural replacer for alternatively cured meat products.
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the potential for using vegetable powders as a natural replacement for sodium nitrite and their effects on the physicochemical characteristics of alternatively cured pork products. We analyzed pork products subjected to four treatments: control (0.015% sodium nitrite), Chinese cabbabe powder (CCP) treatment (0.4% Chinese cabbage powder), radish powder (RP) treatment (0.4% radish powder), and spinach powder (SP) treatment (0.4% spinach powder). Among the vegetable powders prepared in this study, SP had the highest (p<0.05) nitrate content, while CCP had the lowest (p<0.05). The cooking yields from these treatments were not significantly different from each other. However, the products with vegetable powders had higher (p<0.05) pH and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances values than the control. Pork products with vegetable powders also showed lower CIE L* values and higher CIE b* values than the nitrite-added control. RP treatment had similar (p>0.05) CIE a* values to the control, while SP treatment had the lowest (p<0.05) CIE a* values. The residual nitrite content was lower (p<0.05) in the vegetable powder added pork products than in the control, although nitrosyl hemochrome and total pigment contents in the CCP and RP treatments were similar (p>0.05) to those in the control. The control, CCP, and RP treatments showed curing efficiencies greater than 80%, indicating that CCP and RP would be promising potential replacements for sodium nitrite. The results of this study suggest that RP may be a suitable natural replacement for sodium nitrite to produce alternatively cured meat products, compared to other leafy vegetable powders.