Elucidating the effects and mechanism of ultrasound treatment combined with -carrageenan on the quality profiles and digestibility of frankfurters based on principal component analysis.

This study evaluated the combined effects of ultrasound (US) treatment (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 min) and -carrageenan (KC, 0.2 % /w) on the quality profiles and digestibility of frankfurters. Co-treatment with US and KC considerably enlarged the emulsion stability and diminished the cooking loss of frankfurters ( < 0.05). Meanwhile, 40-min US treatment optimised the textural features and rheological behaviour of frankfurters and also formed a denser gel network matrix compared with the exclusive KC inclusion and control. Moreover, US treatment encouraged α-helix-to-β-sheet transitions in meat proteins. Moderate US treatment strengthened the disulphide and hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, the decreased digestibility of frankfurters brought on by exclusive KC inclusion was compensated for by US in conjunction KC. A quality evaluation model was developed using principal component analysis, and it revealed that the frankfurters subjected to 40-min US treatment yielded the superior overall quality.