Effect of tapioca flour on physicochemical properties and sensory descriptive profiles of chicken breast meat patties

Authors: CHATTERJEE, DEBOLINA - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); SANCHEZ BRAMBILA, GABRIELA - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); Bowker, Brian; Zhuang, Hong

Submitted to: Journal of Applied Poultry Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/3/2018
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Ground chicken breast meat is a common product in the US market. Due to its low fat content, ground chicken breast meat is associated with less favorable sensory quality characteristics. To improve the quality of low fat comminuted meat products, plant starch tapioca is commonly utilized as binders and/or fillers in further-processed meat products. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of adding tapioca flour on the properties and sensory qualities of patties made of chicken breast meat. Our results show that the addition of tapioca can significantly affect appearance, such as lightness, redness and yellowness, and improve water-holding capacity and tenderness of cooked chicken breast meat patties. Adding tapioca does not affect sensory flavor and taste but significantly improve sensory texture quality of cooked ground chicken breast meat. In comparison with common food binders, potato flour, garbanzo flour, and egg white, the chicken breast meat patties with tapioca may appear different from the chicken breast meat patties with the other ingredients. The effects of tapioca on water-holding capacity and tenderness of ground chicken breast meat are either comparable to or better than the other three binders are. The sensory quality of cooked chicken breast meat patties with tapioca is similar to that with the other plant flours. Our data demonstrate that 2% tapioca can be used to improve functionality and sensory quality of ground chicken breast meat without adverse effects.

Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of tapioca flour (TF) on the physicochemical properties and sensory qualities of chicken breast meat patties. The effects were also compared with some other common-used ingredients used as binder additives. Ground chicken breast meat was either mixed with different concentration of TF (1%, 2%, or 4%, w/w) for the TF effect study or mixed with 2% TF, potato flour, garbanzo flour, or egg white for the comparison study. The physicochemical properties (raw meat pH, color and cook loss and cooked meat expressible moisture and shear force) and sensory flavor and texture profiles were evaluated. Results showed that the addition of TF to ground chicken breast meat significantly reduced pH, cook loss, expressible moisture, and shear force and increased L* values (P < 0.05). Compared to the other three different binder additives, chicken breast meat patties did not exhibit any differences (P > 0.05) in pH, L*, and b* values; however, they were significantly redder (P < 0.05) with lower cook loss, expressible moisture, and shear force. Although the addition of TF did not significantly change intensity of flavor, it significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the intensities of texture attributes cohesiveness, hardness, and chewiness. There were no differences between TF, potato flour, and garbanzo regardless of sensory attribute; however, TF samples were perceived to be significantly less meaty, cohesive, and hard than an egg white sample. These results suggest that the addition of TF to ground chicken breast meat significantly affects raw product appearance, improves water-holding capacity, and reduces cooked ground meat shear force. With regards to sensory perception, the incorporation of TF into patties made from ground chicken breast meat did not impact cooked flavor intensity but improved cooked meat texture attributes. The TF effects on meat texture are either better than or comparable to other commonly used meat binder additives for chicken breast meat patties.