Abstract
The aim of this study was to improve textural properties of chicken meat loaf which was prepared to be available for the elderly people.
Soft chicken meat loaf (SCL) was composed of chicken meat, egg whites and some vegetables, which results in a full balanced and nutritious food product. The best value of the breaking strength was obtained when the meat was filtered by a strainer and 1% gelatin was mixed. The breaking strength values of the samples filtered by a strainer in both groups (1% and 2% gelatin) were reduced by a rate of 50% when compared to non-filtered samples. Moreover, the breaking strength of the filtered samples was significantly less than that of the samples of ordinary soft food. The textural and cohesiveness values in meat loaf containing 1% gelatin were superior to that values in the ordinary soft food samples. A participant (female, 88 years-old) could swallow it without any difficulty, despite the fact that she was routinely chewing with her own gums and fed by a feeding tube. SCLs with 1% gelatin filtered through a strainer obtained the best values in rheological and sensory assessments.
The present data showed that the chicken meat loaf is tender smooth, easy to swallow and is accepted to humans with dysphagia (3rd grade of soft food local classification table).
