Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access

Abstract

Recipe Optimization to Produce Functional Food Based on Meat and Fish

Conte A, Mastromatteo M, Cozzolino F, Lecce L and Del Nobile MA

Functional foods were produced from the combination of minced meat or fish with extra virgin olive oil and vegetable flour. Proper concentrations of oil and vegetable flours were selected to improve the nutritional properties of processed meat and fish burgers. Sensory evaluations were also carried out in different sessions by trained panel and generic consumers to assess product acceptability. The results of the work demonstrated that the two ingredients, selected for their well-known healthy benefits, enhance not only the nutritional value but also the sensory properties of food. In particular, the best formulation for meat patties contained 10% oil and 10% red pepper flour, whereas, 15% oil and 5% yellow pepper flour and 17.5% oil and 7.5% zucchini flour were the optimized ingredients for fish burgers. These recipes did not score significantly different from other CCD options but were preferred by consumers, when asked to compare these new products to traditional burgers. Moreover, analytical investigations carried out before and after cooking assessed the preservation of the health-giving compounds deriving from the pepper flour.