Effects of fat level (5%, 10%, 20%) and corn flour (0%, 2%, 4%) on some properties of Turkish type meatballs (koefte)

In this study the effects of fat level (5%, 10% and 20%) and corn flour (CF 0%, 2% and 4%) on chemical composition, cooking characteristics and sensory properties of Turkish type meatballs were evaluated. Cooking characteristics were evaluated by measuring cooking yield, fat retention, moisture retention, reduction in diameter and thickness and shrinkage. At each fat level, incorporation of CF significantly increased protein content but had no significant effect on fat content of cooked meatballs. Decreasing the fat content from 20% to 5% significantly increased cooking yield and fat retention. Meatballs formulated with 20% fat had the highest reduction in diameter. CF had no effect on reduction in diameter. CF reduced shrinkage in meatballs formulated with 5% or 10% fat and increased moisture retention in treatments formulated with 5% or 10% fat. Sensory evaluation indicated that decreasing fat level resulted in lower texture and overall palatability scores. CF had no detrimental effect on sensory properties except appearance.