This study aimed to investigate the effect of different drying methods, namely ultrasound-assisted vacuum drying (USV), vacuum drying (VD), and freeze-drying (FD), on the drying kinetics and some quality parameters of dried minced meat. In this study, USV was for the first time applied to the drying of minced meat. The USV and VD methods were conducted at 25 °C, 35 °C, and 45 °C. The different drying methods and temperatures significantly affected the drying time (p < 0.05). The USV method showed lower drying times at all temperatures. The rehydration values of the freeze-dried minced meat samples were higher than those obtained by the USV and VD techniques. The samples prepared using USV showed higher rehydration values than the vacuum dried samples for all temperatures. The effects of the different drying techniques and drying conditions on the microstructural properties of the minced meat samples were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The USV method resulted in higher porosity and a more open structure than the VD method. Total color differences (ΔE) for VD, USV, and FD were 8.27–20.81, 9.58–16.42, and 9.38, respectively, and were significantly affected by the drying methods and temperatures (p < 0.05). Higher drying temperature increased the ΔE value. Peroxide values (PV) significantly increased after the drying process, and samples treated with USV showed lower PV values than the VD treated samples. This study suggests that USV could be used as an alternative drying method for minced meat drying due to lower drying times and higher quality parameters.

Ice cream is a complex product obtained by blowing air through special equipment and then freezing a physicochemical mixture consisting of milk, sugar, emulsifier, stabilizer, oil, color and flavoring substances. Recently, especially with the pandemic experienced all over the world, consumers have begun to turn to functional foods that have high nutritional value and are important for health. Functional foods, in addition to its nutritional effects, are defined as foods that have health protective, corrective and/or disease risk reducing effects, depending on one or more effective ingredients, and these effects are scientifically and clinically proven. In order for a product to have functional properties, it must contain bioactive ingredients, probiotic microorganisms and also have a prebiotic effect. For this reason, our study aimed to provide functional properties to ice cream with blueberries, which are rich in phenolic compounds, and to examine the phenolic substance bioaccessibility of this functional ice cream under mouth, stomach and small intestine conditions simulated with the in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model system. In this context, functional ice cream was produced by trapping the phenolic rich blueberry fruit in six different concentrations of whey protein gel, and the amount of phenolic substance and protein amount were determined after in vitro digestion. While the phenolic substance content of protein gel ice cream in the small intestine environment was between 261-485 µg/100 g and an average of 114 µg/100 g in the control sample, in the oral environment these values were determined as 85-251 µg/100 g in protein gel ice cream and 291 µg/100 g in the control sample. As a result of our study, it was determined that the amount of gallic acid phenolic substance and bioaccessibility of ice cream samples produced with protein gel increased from the oral environment to the small intestine. In the control sample (blueberry ice cream without protein gel), it was observed that the amount of phenolic substance was highest in the oral environment and decreased as it went to the small intestine environment. According to the FAO Guidelines for Use of Nutrition Claims, samples with a whey protein gel ratio of 16%, 18% and 20% can be considered as "protein sources". Thus, in this study, functionalized in terms of protein content and phenolic substance, increased bioaccessibility and high protein ice cream production was carried out.

Bread is among the most commonly consumed foods in daily diets around the world. It is known that breads produced with sourdough or different cereal flours have positive effects on health. Consumer demand for these types of bread is steadily growing. One key factor influencing bread consumption is their sensory qualities. The aim of our study was to assess the sensory properties of sourdough breads made with various cereal flours and a buckwheat (pseudocereal) substitute. For this purpose, six types of sourdough breads were produced with durum (yellow) wheat, wheat, rye, einkorn, wheat germ flours and buckwheat flour as a grain substitute, and these bread varieties were scored between 1-5 by 9 trained panelists according to loaf and crust appearance, crust thickness, crust color, crust odor, crumb appearance, crumb porosity, crumb color, crumb elasticity, chewability, odor, taste, and general appreciation features. As a result of the evaluation, in terms of general appreciation, the average scores of the bread varieties, from the most to the least appreciated, were determined as buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) bread (4.017), durum wheat (Triticum durum) bread (3.811), wheat (Triticum aestivum) bread (3.685), einkorn (Triticum monococcum) bread (3.102), wheat germ bread (3.076) and rye (Secale cereale) bread (3.008). Additionally, when the average total scores were reviewed at the end of the evaluation, it was found that the breads were rated at least 2.5 points (medium), which is above average. Therefore, it was concluded that breads produced with sourdough by substituting buckwheat, durum wheat, einkorn, wheat germ and rye flours could serve as a good alternative to sourdough wheat bread for healthy nutrition by gaining consumer approval.