The processed meats are classified in the first category of carcinogenic compounds due to its numerous health issues. For this reason, there is a growing interest to utilize healthy ingredients for formulation of meat-based products. The objective of this study was to replace completely and partially meat by plant proteins in sausage formulation and compare the characteristics of these novel formulae with full meat sample. The results showed that the plant proteins minimized the cooking loss and shrinkage and improved emulsion stability by creating a strong structural network in cooked emulsion. In contrast, the full meat samples had better strength/elasticity in terms of folding score (4.67 out of 5) and gel strength (2553.68 g mm) when compared to meat-reduced and meat-free samples. The sensory assessment showed that replacement of chicken meat by plant proteins was highly acceptable in terms of texture, odor, color and overall acceptance. Overall, it is concluded that plant proteins can be regarded as promising ingredients to replace 80-100% meat in sausage.
Keywords: Emulsified meat; Meat alternative; Plant proteins; Sausage; Textural properties.