Guizhou Key Laboratory of New Quality Processing and Storage of Ecological Specialty Food, School of Liquor and Food Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Abstract：Traditional sour meat fermentation relies on high concentrations of salt, and long-term consumption of sour meat will increase health risks. From the perspective of low salt fermentation, this study investigated the effect of partial replacement (0%–40%) of sodium chloride (NaCl) with potassium chloride (KCl) on the endogenous protease and quality changes of sour meat by sensory evaluation, electronic tongue analysis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), amino acid analysis and other methods. The results showed that the 20% KCl substitution group had the highest overall sensory score, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). Electronic tongue analysis demonstrated that the 20% KCl group showed significantly lower sourness, astringency, and bitterness (P < 0.05) and higher umami and saltiness intensities (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in richness. Moreover, its redness value, pH value and moisture content were all significantly higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05). As the level of KCl substitution increased, the endogenous cathepsin B and L activities of sour meat significantly decreased (P < 0.05), leading to reduced protein degradation. Amino acid analysis revealed that the 20% KCl group exhibited a notably lower proportion of bitter amino acids (P < 0.05) and higher proportions of umami and sweet amino acids compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Taken together, this study suggested that 20% KCl substitution is the most suitable condition for the processing of low-salt sour meat.
2026, Vol. 40 
