title: Nutritional value and influence of the thermal processing on a traditional Portuguese fermented sausage (alheira).
abstract: Alheiras are a traditional, smoked, fermented meat sausage, produced in Portugal, with an undeniable cultural and gastronomic legacy. In this study, we assessed the nutritional value of this product, as well as the influence of different types of thermal processing. Alheiras from Mirandela were submitted to six different procedures: microwave, skillet, oven, charcoal grill, electric fryer and electric grill. Protein, fat, carbohydrate, minerals, NaCl, and cholesterol contents, as well as fatty acid profile were evaluated. The results show that alheiras are not hypercaloric but an unbalanced foodstuff (high levels of proteins and lipids) and the type of processing has a major impact on their nutritional value. Charcoal grill is the healthiest option: less fat (12.5 g/100 g) and cholesterol (29.3 mg/100 g), corresponding to a lower caloric intake (231.8 kcal, less 13% than the raw ones). Inversely, fried alheiras presented the worst nutritional profile, with the highest levels of fat (18.1 g/100 g) and cholesterol (76.0 g/100 g).
authors.affiliation: REQUIMTE/Departamento de Ciências Químicas, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade do Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira n.° 228 4050-313 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sílvia D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.forename: Rita C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.forename: Eulália
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.forename: Anabela S G
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casal
authors.forename: Maria Beatriz P P
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000032:analysis; D003296:Cooking / Q000379:methods*; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000032:analysis*; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D002149:Energy Intake; D005285:Fermentation; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008461:Meat Products / Q000032:analysis*; D009753:Nutritive Value; D011174:Portugal
chemical_list: D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins