Sodium reduction strategies through use of meat extenders (white button mushrooms vs. textured soy) in beef patties

Lowering the sodium content in meat products, particularly in beef patties, can be challenging because sodium plays many functional roles in these products. Meat extenders can contribute to lower sodium content by imparting complementary flavors while reducing caloric and sodium content. A systematic comparison of two meat extenders, namely mushrooms and textured soy (TSP) in terms of physical and sensory characteristics, is presented herein. The physical properties of the samples suggested that the use of mushroom and TSP extender would perform statistically similar to an all‐meat control depending on the level of substitution. Hedonic sensory analysis showed meat extension using mushrooms yielded liking scores more similar to the all‐meat formulations than TSP in reduced sodium applications. The results of this research suggest that mushrooms have the potential to be successfully incorporated into reduced sodium meat products to provide a healthier product.