EFFECTS OF SALT REDUCTION ON THE RHEOLOGICAL AND GELATION PROPERTIES OF WHITE AND DARK POULTRY MEAT BATTERS

The rheological and gelation properties of poultry dark and white meat batters prepared with average and reduced NaCl levels (2%, 1% and 0%) and with 0.5% hexametaphosphate (HMP) added to the 1% salt batters were studied. Lowering the salt content decreased the shear stress in both the white and dark meat at the same shear rates. HMP addition to the 1% NaCl treatments increased the shear stress in the dark meat but not in the white meat at the same shear rates using a concentric cylinder viscometer. The relationship between the rotor angular velocity and shear stress of the raw batters was nonlinear and resembled a pseudoplastic behaviour with yield stress in all cases. Plots of the modulus of rigidity (G) versus cooking temperature indicated that white meat always exhibited higher G than that of dark meat. The highest G was observed in the white meat with 2.0% NaCl and the lowest in the dark meat with no salt. The batters with no salt also exhibited gel formation, however with lower G values.