Summary
The effects of eleven ingredients (originating from various ingredient classes: animal proteins, plant proteins, starches, hydrocolloids and fibres) applied in two different concentrations on drip loss, rheological characteristics and hardness were evaluated in a lean meat model system. The high concentration of potato starch, insoluble citrus fibre, rice starch or pea protein significantly (P < 0.05) reduced drip losses (6.92%, 17.87%, 15.70%, 17.60%, respectively) compared to control (30.80%), while rheological measures and hardness remained unchanged (P > 0.05). Moreover, the addition of low concentrations of soluble citrus fibre did not significantly affect hardness (4.11 N), whereas its inclusion at high concentrations had a significant effect on the final hardness (7.17 N). Among all the tested ingredients, xanthan presented the lowest drip loss value (0.12% and 0.40% for high and low concentration, respectively). Finally, gelatine did not show any differences in water holding capacity, storage modulus nor hardness compared with the control group.