PORTUGUESE TRADITIONAL SAUSAGE, ALHEIRA, MADE WITH DIFFRENT MEAT: SENSORY EVALUATION AND TEXTURE

Abstract

At a portuguese traditional meat plant 6 different formulas were used to produce “alheira”, a portuguese traditional fermented sausage, from the north region, usually made with chopped meat from pork and poultry. Formulas were different only due to the type of meat (formula A - beef meat; formula B - poultry meat; formula C - Alentejano pig breed meat; formula D - Alentejano pig breed meat and beef meat; formula E - Alentejano pig breed meat and poultry; formula F - Alentejano pig breed, beef and poultry meat). Five sausages per formula were used to realise sensorial and textural analysis. A descriptive quantitative analysis was chosen to performed sensorial evaluation, using a trained panel. Textural analysis consisted on Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) test. Results from TPA suggest that texture of “alheiras” made with meat from poultry (more common) or Alentejano pig breed (never done before) are similar while “alheiras” made with extreme beef meat showed different textural characteristics comparing with the others. Considering sensorial analysis results, no differences were found between studied formulas. However taste intensity was higher in “alheiras” made with extreme meat beef and also in those made with the mixture of Alentejano pig breed and poultry meat.