SENSORIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF COOKED HAM WITH PARTIAL REDUCTION OF NACL

The partial replacement of NaCl by KCl is an alternative to reduce the sodium content, however, may cause technological and sensory changes in the food. The objective of the study was to develop a cooked ham with reduced sodium content and sensory characteristics similar to the standard. Four formulations were developed with partial substitution of salt by light salt: Standard (0%), F1 (10%), F2 (18%), F3 (26%) and F4 (34%). The formulations showed no significant difference (p <0.05) for moisture, ash, protein, lipids and water activity. In the triangular test, the flavor attribute of formulations F3 and F4 was statistically different (p<0.05) from the standard formulation. Due to the sensory difference perceived by evaluators, KCl masking (M) was added in the formulations F3 (M + F3) and F4 (F4 M +). The addition of the KCl masking allowed a similar sensory acceptance to that of the standard formulation. The results show that the use of the light salt + KCl masking may be an alternative for the reduction of sodium in cooked ham.