Physicochemical properties of low sodium goat kafta

•Physicochemical changes of goat kafta depend on the level of NaCl substitution.•Sodium reduction reached maximum value of 45.6% in goat kafta.•NaCl promotes a greater texture quality in goat kafta samples than KCl.•The presence of low concentrations of KCl reduced cooking loss.•High percentages of NaCl substitution by KCl induced lipid oxidation.

The effect of partial replacement (25 and 50%) of sodium chloride (NaCl) by potassium chloride (KCl) on physicochemical parameters of kafta prepared with goat meat was assessed. It was observed that the influence of sodium reduction on the physicochemical traits of goat kafta depends on the percentage of NaCl substitution. As expected, the partial substitution of NaCl by KCl in goat kafta formulations caused a reduction in sodium levels and increased potassium values. The percentage of NaCl substitution by KCl also had an influence (p < 0.05) on increased water activity, pH and shear-force of kafta samples. Although there was no modification in water-holding capacity between treatments (p < 0.05), it was observed an increasing trend of cooking loss with the percentage of NaCl substitution. Low-sodium samples showed low values of lightness and redness. Goat kafta prepared with 25% NaCl substitution had lower TBARs value compared to other treatments (p < 0.05). In conclusion, considering the occurrence of minor changes in the physicochemical characteristics of samples and the low sodium content, 25% substitution of NaCl by KCl in goat kafta formulations seems to be feasible.