Different parameters affecting lipid oxidation in meatballs

Sammanfattning: The aim of this master thesis was to produce meatballs with different characteristics and from these, find the meatball that oxidized the most. For the production, minced meat with different concentrations of salt and fat from both beef and pork was used. Half of the meatballs were pan-fried and the other half was deep fat fried. Additionally, three different storage times were applied. The meatballs with most lipid oxidation were produced again, this time with antioxidants added to them. The type of meat and storage time had the largest impact on lipid oxidation. While salt concentration and cooking method had moderate affect. The fat content did not significantly affect the level of lipid oxidation when comparing the TBAR values per g meatball. It was concluded that pork meatballs were more prone to oxidize than beef, most likely due to the higher amount of unsaturated fat and lesser fat loss. With longer storage time, more lipid oxidation can take place. Adding antioxidants to the meatballs decreased lipid oxidation. The oxidation decreased more with higher concentrations of polyphenols of which OPP had a greater affect than oregano oil. This points to that the composition of polyphenols in OPP could be better for inhibiting oxidation since they showed a better antioxidative capacity. The lipid oxidation decreased more in pork than in beef. In the sensory analysis, the panellists experienced the beef meatballs to be more compact than pork. This can be correlated to the higher total weight loss for beef meatballs. A consequence of lipid oxidation is the creation of rancid off-flavour. However, this relation was not detected by the panellists.