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.
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