BACKGROUND
This study aimed to investigate the effects of treatment temperatures (22, 78, 100 °C) on the antioxidant activity of 13 types of dried ground spices and herbs (black mustard, black pepper, blackberries, onion, cumin, galangal, lemon balm, lovage, marjoram, oregano, parsley, rosemary and watercress) through measurements of redox potential. Four different combinations of spices and herbs were created and applied to cooked pork sausages, then sensory evaluation was carried out.
RESULTS
The redox potential was temperature dependent. A temperature of 78 °C was chosen to produce the cooked pork sausages with the addition of the spice and herb combinations. The combinations were black mustard, onion, and cumin (at a 1:1:1 ratio); onion, marjoram, and parsley (at a 1:1:1 ratio); black pepper, lemon balm, and parsley (at a 1:2.35:1.65 ratio) and black pepper, cumin, and lovage (at a 1:2:2 ratio). In pork sausages cooked at 78 °C, the variants at 12 g kg−1 had a more intense aroma and taste than those at 6 g kg−1 spice and herb combinations, and received a superior sensory evaluation in total.
CONCLUSIONS
The most desirable treatment temperature possibly applied in food products was 78 °C as it gave the highest number of negative results in redox potential of water extracts. The addition of the tested spice and herb combinations contributed to the increase of antioxidant possibility of 78 °C‐cooked pork sausages. Further investigation of the redox potential in other meat products (raw meat products at 22 °C, sausages from cooked meat at 100 °C) with the addition of the current spice and herb combinations will be undertaken in subsequent research. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.