Impact of Organic and Conventional Vegetable-Based Curing Ingredients on Frankfurter Quality and Sensory Attributes

Frankfurters, a widely consumed cured meat product in the United States, provide an ideal model for assessing the effects of conventional and organic plant-based curing ingredients. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of commercially available conventional and organic plant-based curing ingredients on the quality and sensory characteristics of frankfurters. Five nitrite source treatments (TRT)s were analyzed: preconverted celery (CEL), organic celery (OCEL), Swiss chard (SW), organic Swiss chard (OSW), and sodium nitrite (SN). Consumer sensory panel scores revealed a subtle variation in the perception of non-meat aftertaste among alternative cured frankfurter TRTs. No difference (p > 0.05) was observed in overall liking and purchase intent among all TRTs. Furthermore, the consumer sensory panel indicated that OSW had a marginally higher (p = 0.077) non-meat aftertaste compared to SW. Analysis of volatile compounds offered detailed insights into the interactions and effects of sodium nitrite and plant-based curing powders on finished products. Esters and terpenoids were strongly positively correlated (r > 0.75) with non-meat aftertaste, whereas alcohols, amino acids, and aldehydes were strongly negatively correlated (r < -0.75) with non-meat aftertaste. This study found that some commercially available organic curing ingredients may go through a deodorization process, resulting in an undetectable non-meat aftertaste. The combined findings indicated that even though non-meat aftertaste is discernible in organic versus conventional cured meat products, it does not affect consumers' overall liking or purchase intent for vegetable-based curing ingredients.