Quality Characteristics of Low-Salt and -Fat Meatball Added Black Garlic (Allium sativum L.) during Cold Storage

The effects of black garlic (Allium sativum L.) addition on the quality characteristics of low-fat and low-salt meatballs during cold storage were investigated. Meatballs were divided into five groups: none (control), 0.1% ascorbic acid (T1), 1% black garlic (12), 2% black garlic (T3), and 3% black garlic (T4). pH and lightness values were lower in the treatment groups than in controls by storage time. pH and lightness values were decreased with increasing addition of black garlic (p<0.05). Addition of black garlic to meatball resulted in significantly higher TBARS values than that of control and T1 at day 1 (p<0.05). However, the addition of black garlic to meatball resulted in significantly lower VBN values than that of control after storage for 14 d. On day 14 or 21, the VBN values of meatball with added black garlic were lower than those of control and decreased with increasing addition of black garlic (p<0.05). Although addition of black garlic produced low acceptance of color scores, the flavor, tenderness, and juiciness of meatball with added black garlic were similar to those of control and T1 (p>0.05). Based on the current results, addition of black garlic could be recommended for preventing protein degradation in low-salt and low-fat meatball. Further, black garlic could be useful to the pork meat product industry as a food additive.