Abstract
In the meat industry, it is important to enrich meat products with plant-based functional components, which improves their nutritional value but also changes the mechanical properties of the matrix. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of collagen hydrolysate and cranberry powder on the structural and mechanical properties of cooked sausages. The study was conducted using a standard two-cycle scheme on a structurometer, and the hardness, springiness, cohesion, resilience and chewiness of cooked sausage products were determined. Approximation was performed using simple linear models and paired correlation analysis. The addition of 10% collagen hydrolysate led to a slight decrease in indicators relative to the control, while the addition of cranberry powder (1–3%) at a fixed level of hydrolysate (10%) caused a dose-dependent decrease in all indicators, which was confirmed by linear trends with a high explanation of variance (R²=0,89–0,99). Pairwise correlation analysis showed very strong inverse correlations for cranberries with TPA (r =-0,92…-0,98, p=0,0045–0,0250), while moderate negative correlations without statistical significance were obtained for hydrolysate (r=-0,50…-0,80, p>0.05). The results indicate that cranberry powder is the main factor in reducing the structural and mechanical properties, and further research is needed to establish the limits for the amount of functional ingredient to be added. Further research is planned in the RSM method, taking into account the interactions of factors, with organoleptic evaluation, as well as rheological and microstructural analysis.