Impact of salt levels on the sensory profile and consumer acceptance of Italian dry‐cured ham

Abstract BACKGROUND Reduction of the salt (NaCl) content in typical Italian dry‐cured ham is intended to reduce sodium dietary intake to meet World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for the prevention of serious diseases. This reduction is a complex issue because of the multiple roles that salt plays in the product. Hams that were processed to obtain a final product with target salt levels (hams with reduced salt concentration and controls) were analyzed using chemical parameters (salt, moisture, fat, and proteolysis indexes). Their sensory properties were described by a trained panel and 87 consumers evaluated the impact of salt reduction on their liking for the products. RESULTS The dry‐cured hams under investigation are representative of Italian dry‐cured hams, which are considered to be low and medium to high in terms of salt content. Consistent with the role of salt in proteolytic enzymes inhibition, there was an increase in the proteolysis index in fully matured dry‐cured hams with reduced salt content. Salt level affected saltiness perception but also texture, color, and, to a lesser extent, flavor intensity in matured dry‐cured hams. On average, reduced‐salt dry‐cured hams resulted in increased consumer liking. However, the resulting three consumer segments (37%, 27%, and 36% of the consumer cohort, respectively), differed in the acceptability ranking given to reduced‐salt hams and controls. CONCLUSION The tested reduction in salt content, besides improving the nutritional profile of dry‐cured ham, was effective in increasing consumers’ acceptance. These results were useful for exploring the effect of reducing salt concentration on consumer liking for dry‐cured hams. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry