Banana pseudo-stem (BPS), which is rich in fibre and polyphenols, is a potential functional ingredient for the food industry. In this study, BPS was added at concentrations of 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 g/kg to a minced pork batter to evaluate its performance as a filler and to pork burger patties to evaluate its performance as a natural antioxidant. The effects of BPS were compared with those of carrageenan and ascorbate, which are a conventional binder and antioxidant, respectively. The performance of BPS was similar to that of carrageenan in terms of the cooking yield and texture of the cooked batter. BPS reduced the brightness of fresh patties and appeared to reduce oxidative discolouration during the frozen storage of raw patties. Moreover, BPS reduced the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) during the refrigerated and frozen storage of cooked patties. A greater decrease in TBARS formation was observed with 4.5 g BPS/kg compared with 0.5 g sodium ascorbate/kg during refrigerated storage. In contrast to ascorbate, BPS promoted the presence of lipid-derived volatile compounds induced by thermal breakdown in the headspace of cooked patties. Nonetheless, this effect was reduced as the amount of BPS in the patties increased. In cooked minced meat products, BPS could increase cooking yields and lipid oxidative stability during storage and might result in a more intense flavour.
Keywords: cooking yield; discolouration; functional food; lipid autoxidation; natural antioxidant; patty.