QUALITY ATTRIBUTES OF CITRUS FIBER ADDED GROUND BEEF AND CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF CITRUS FIBER ADDED TURKISH MEAT-BALLS

The objectives of this study were (I) to determine the addition of different citrus fiber (CF) levels (0%, 1%, 5%, and 10%) on the quality attributes of ground beef meatballs, (II) to determine consumer preferences for ground beef meatballs made with different CF levels (0%, 1%, 3% and 5%). Both water holding capacity and cooking yield of samples significantly (p 0.05) difference found between the control CF 0% and the CF 1% for hardness and springiness values.  Hunter color L , a , b values were significantly (p 0.05). CF 5% had the lowest texture scores with 5.46. Over all likeness was highest for control with 6.69 followed by CF 1% with 6.56, CF 3% with 5.9, and CF 5% with 5.47. In conclusion, citrus fiber can be used in comminuted meat products at 1% level.