Aim: An
investigation was carried out to prepare nuggets from the relatively tough and
fibrous meat of desi spent hen using fermented bamboo shoot as a
phytopreservative in order to enhance the physico-chemical, microbiological and
keeping quality of the nuggets.
Materials and Methods: Lean meat of desi
spent hen was minced and blended along with other non-meat ingredients and
fermented bamboo shoot @10%. The emulsion was filled in metallic moulds and
steam cooked and cut into pieces. Ready-to-eat nuggets thus prepared were packed
in sterilized LDPE zip bags and stored at 4±1°C up-to 15 days for quality
evaluation. Emulsion stability (%), cooking yield (%), aw and proximate
composition were studied on the day of preparation, while estimation of pH, TBA
values, microbial load and sensory evaluation were carried out at 5 days
interval and up-to 15th day of storage.
Results: The emulsion stability
(%), cooking yield (%), moisture (%), crude protein (%) and total ash (%) of FBS
treated nuggets differed significantly (p<0.01) from the control products.
Storage studies revealed significantly lower (p<0.01) pH, TBA value, total plate
count, psychrophillic count and counts for yeast and moulds in FBS treated
nuggets in comparison to control products. Both control and treated nuggets
exhibited gradual loss of panel ratings during the storage period (4±1°C for 15
days), however, nuggets containing fermented bamboo shoot revealed significantly
higher (p<0.01) mean sensory scores in terms of flavour, texture, juiciness and
overall acceptability.
Conclusion: Nuggets with better physico-chemical
and shelf life can be prepared with incorporation of fermented bamboo shoot @10%
(w/w) to the nugget emulsion.
Keywords: desi spent hen, fermented bamboo
shoot, nugget, phytopreservative
