Study of the quality characteristics of heat-treated chicken meat enriched with quince (cydonia oblonga mill.)

The aim of this study is to assess the effect of adding grated quince (Cydonia oblonga) at various concentrations on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of heat-treated chicken meat during storage. For this purpose, four different groups were formed: control (without additives), AY7.5 (7.5% quince), AY15 (15% quince), and AY22.5 (22.5% quince). The products were filled into airtight glass jars according to the specified recipe, subjected to heat treatment in a water bath at 95°C for 45 minutes, cooled to room temperature, and stored at 4°C for 30 days. Sample analyses were conducted on days 0, 10, 20, and 30 of storage. The study was conducted in two replicates and two parallels, and the statistical analysis of the data was performed using a One-Way ANOVA at a significance level of P<0.05. The addition of quince had a significant effect on the antioxidant properties of the product. On the 30th day of storage, the TBARS level decreased from 0.99 mg malondialdehyde/kg meat in the control group to 0.50 mg MA/kg in the AY15 group and 0.35 mg MA/kg in the AY22.5 group (P<0.05). Increasing the amount of grated quince from 0% to 22.5% resulted in an increase in total phenolic content from 27.01 to 80.60 mg GAE/100 g (P<0.05). Additionally, the antiradical activity (according to the DPPH method) was maintained around 31% and did not show a statistically significant change. The pH of the samples decreased from 6.00 (control) to 5.56 (AY22.5) by the 30th storage day; this indicates that the environment has become slightly acidic, and additional microbiological analyses are needed to confirm its relationship with microbiological stability. Significant changes in colour were observed. The lightness indicator (L*) decreased with increasing quince content (30th day: control — 50.33; AY22.5 — 46.88), indicating that the product had darkened. The redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) values decreased (a*: from 4.87 to 4.01; b*: from 13.76 to 13.03), which may be related to the darkening of the colour due to the natural pigments and phenolic compounds present in the quince. As a result, the addition of 22.5% grated quince to heat-treated chicken meat products contributed to the improvement of antioxidant properties, delayed the oxidative degradation of lipids, and stabilised the pH. It also affected the visual parameters of the product, allowed one-month consumption without loss of nutritional quality. This study is significant in demonstrating the potential of quince as a natural functional component in meat pasteurisation.