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 and with bread. 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 sensory 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.