Semi-dried restructured sausages are restructured meat products with a high
nutritional and economic value. However, excessively long drying times can have
negative effects on the energy consumption, texture, and sensory properties of
semi-dried restructured sausages. The objective of this study was to investigate
the effects of different water contents on the drying and physicochemical
characteristics of semi-dried restructured sausages. Sausages were prepared with
different initial moisture contents (0%−50%) and drying
time (0−580 min). The drying characteristics, including the drying rate,
effective moisture diffusivity, and water activity of sausage were significantly
improved as the initial moisture content was increased. When the initial
moisture content of the sausage was 50%, physicochemical properties, such
as color, porosity, shear force, and volatile basic nitrogen, were improved the
most along with the decreased drying time. Scanning electron microscopy data
showed greater porosity and pore size in sausages with the increase of initial
moisture content. Collectively, our data suggest that an increase in the initial
moisture content of semi-dried restructured sausages improves their drying
characteristics and physicochemical properties.