Manufacturing the novel sausages with reduced quantity of meat and fat: The product development, formulation optimization, emulsion stability and textural characterization

• The meat content of sausages was reduced by substituting pigeon pea and corn flours as protein, fiber and starch sources.
• The content of fat was reduced by substituting walnut and sesame paste as functional vegetable oils.
• Emulsion stability, cooking loss and textural properties of sausages were improved.
• An optimize formulation of novel sausage containing vegetable ingredients was introduced.

The effects of pigeon pea flour, corn flour, walnut paste and sesame paste on emulsion stability and textural properties of sausages were investigated using response surface methodology. Increase proportions of pigeon pea and corn flour were associated with high emulsion stability and textural properties including hardness, gumminess and deformability (p < 0.001). However, increased proportions of flour in combination with walnut paste somewhat reduced cohesiveness. Vegetable ingredients favored gel-network formation and showed greatly improved emulsion–stability parameters and promote high textural properties. These properties were confirmed by micrographs of the various sausages, which revealed interaction between vegetable ingredients and the protein matrix, and with the fat globules, which also affected the parameters. Scanning electron microscopy images of sausage samples prepared with the optimum formulation showed the compact spongy structure and the formation of the sausage mixture due to the formation of a continuous and stable protein matrix.