EFFECT OF OAT BRAN PRETREATMENT ON THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND SENSORY PROPERTIES OF MINCED MEAT SEMI-FINISHED PRODUCTS

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study on the effect of oat bran pretreatment on the quality of minced meat semi-finished products. The study aimed to compare the physicochemical, functional-technological and sensory properties of products containing 5 % oat bran added in dry, hydrated or hydrothermally treated form. A control formulation without bran and three experimental formulations of 1000 g each were developed. Total formulation water was fixed at 150 g in all variants; in the hydrated and hydrothermally treated samples, all water was used for bran pretreatment at a bran-to-water ratio of 1:3. Hydration was performed for 30 min at 18–22 °C, whereas hydrothermal treatment was conducted for 10 min at 85–90 °C, followed by cooling to no more than 12 °C. Physicochemical and functional-technological parameters were determined in triplicate, and the results are presented as the arithmetic mean ± standard deviation. Water-binding capacity increased from 75.0 ± 0.9 % in the control to 87.4 ± 1.4 % in the hydrothermally treated sample, while water-holding capacity increased from 71.1 ± 1.1 to 83.5 ± 1.5 %. Cooking loss decreased from 25.0 ± 1.0 to 15.0 ± 1.0 %, and product yield increased from 75.0 ± 1.0 to 85.0 ± 1.0 %. Oat bran incorporation increased dietary fibre content from 0.70 ± 0.20 % in the control to 3.20–3.40 % in the experimental samples. On the five-point sensory scale, the mean overall score was 4.70 for the control, 4.20 for dry bran incorporation, 4.77 after hydration and 4.88 after hydrothermal treatment. Dry bran produced a denser, slightly drier and grainier texture, whereas pretreatment improved tenderness, uniformity and juiciness. Hydrothermal treatment provided the most uniform colour, harmonious flavour, elastic texture and high juiciness. The results confirm the technological feasibility of hydrothermal oat bran pretreatment before its incorporation into minced meat semi-finished products.