Toward the enhancement of sensory profile of sausage "Merguez" with chickpea protein concentrate.

The influence of different Chickpea Protein Concentrates (CPC) addition at different levels (CPC: 1.5, 2.5 and 5% (w/w)) on physico-chemical, textural and hedonic properties of formulated and cooked sausage "Merguez" were investigated. The obtained results exhibited that CPC addition increased protein content of "Merguez" sausage and improved the process yield. Significant differences were noticed on the cooking loss and textural properties for "Merguez" sausages formulated with 5% of CPC compared to the control (p < 0.05). Hedonic analysis showed that protein addition had no significant effect on sausages taste. However, sausage texture and global acceptability were markedly improved (p < 0.05). These results suggest that CPC could be an important alternative source of protein additive for the improvement of the physico-chemical, textural and sensorial properties of meat sausages.