Formulating Reduced-fat Sausages with Quinoa or Teff Flours: Effects on Emulsion Characteristics and Product Quality

This study dealt with the use of quinoa flour (QF) or teff flour (TF) as partial beef fat replacers in the formulation of emulsion-type sausages. A control (C) group was manufactured with 20% beef fat, while the other three groups were formulated with 10% beef fat plus 5% QF (Q), 5% TF (T), and 2.5% QF+2.5% TF (QT). Water-holding capacity of the emulsions was higher in Q (81.81%), T (82.20%), and QT (84.10%) samples than in C (64.83%) samples. Total expressible fluid and expressible fat were the lowest in Q and T samples, indicating the highest emulsion stability of those groups. Incorporation of QF and TF into formulations increased moisture and carbohydrate contents while decreased fat and energy values. Besides, the use of QF was effective to increase protein and dietary fiber contents. T sausages had lower luminosity (L⁎) and higher yellowness (b⁎) than C sausages, whilst Q sausages did not result in significant color changes. Higher cook yield values were recorded in Q (97.96%), T (98.21%), and QT (98.15%) samples compared with C (96.44%) samples. Inclusion of QF and TF to formulation led to lower hardness and gumminess, while utilization of TF was also effective to decrease chewiness. Consequently, healthier emulsified sausages were obtained by the inclusion of QF or TF that could decrease the fat content more than 50% without sacrificing overall quality, bringing advantages by quinoa over teff for increasing nutritional value and leading minimal modifications on color and texture.