Efficacy of carrageenan and texturized soy protein on quality attributes of chicken meat croquettes

The study was conducted to know the effect of humectants on quality characteristics of hurdle treated chicken croquettes prepared from culled broilers. Four different batches of chicken croquettes viz. control (C), texturized soy protein 5% (T₁), carrageenan 0.5% (T₂) and combination of texturized soy protein 5% and carrageenan 0.5% (T₃) were prepared. The products were examined for different physico-chemical quality, texture and colour profiles and sensory quality. It was revealed that pH, emulsion stability and cooking yield were found to be significantly (p<0.05) higher and water activity significantly lower in T₃ batch as compared to the control, T₁and T₂ products. The colour profile showed a significantly lower L* value and higher a* value, while the texture profile exhibited a significantly lower value for hardness and non-significant difference for springiness, stringiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, gumminess and resilience in the T₃ product as compared to other batches. The evaluation of sensory attributes showed a significantly higher score for flavour, texture, juiciness and overall acceptability in respect of T₃ samples. Hence it was concluded that combination of texturized soy protein 5% and carrageenan 0.5% (T₃) were the preferred humectants for preparation of hurdle treated chicken croquettes.