Abstract:
The processed meat industry in Sri Lanka has responded to the growing consumer
demand by offering a diverse range of value-added meat products, including meatballs.
Among these, chicken meatballs are the most popular variety in Sri Lankan food
culture. Other poultry meat sources, such as quail and turkey possess considerable
potential as alternative raw materials for meatball production. Hence, this study aimed
to develop rice-flour-incorporated meatballs from turkey and quail meat using precolonial
recipes (Mas guli/ Kurakkal) and investigate the effect on proximate
composition, physico-chemical properties and sensory qualities. A Preliminary study
was conducted to evaluate three levels of rice flour incorporation (10%, 15% and
20%). According to the sensory and texture analysis results, 10% inclusion was the
optimum inclusion rate of rice flour for this formulation. Based on these findings, three
treatments (chicken, turkey, and quail meatballs) were developed using a standardized
formulation and evaluated under a completely randomized design (CRD) with three
replicates, where chicken meatballs served as the control. The quail and turkey
meatballs had significantly (P<0.05) higher protein percentage and lower hardness
compared to chicken meatballs. The highest ash content and lowest fat percentage
were observed in quail meatballs (p <0.05). Significant differences (P<0.05) in the
colour parameters were observed among the samples. The highest a* value (redness)
was observed in quail meatballs, followed by turkey meatballs, while the lowest value
was observed in chicken meatballs. Sensory evaluation results showed that quail
meatballs had received the highest scores for colour, flavour, juiciness, and overall
acceptability. In conclusion, developed quail meatballs exhibited better quality and
sensory attributes than turkey and chicken meatballs.
