Abstract:Tea polyphenols (TP) are commonly used natural antioxidants, and possess the capability to reduce sodium nitrite residuals in sausages. However, TP may cause some negative effects on the quality of Cantonese sausages, such as increased hardness and decreased brightness. To improve the quality of TP-added Cantonese sausages, an ingredient containing free sulfhydryl groups, such as cysteine (CYS), soybean protein peptide (SPP) or soybean protein isolate (SPI) was added into the TP-added Cantonese sausages. The impacts of these added ingredients on the physical properties, color, sensory quality, and nitrite residue content of the sausages were investigated in this study, and the role of CYS, SPP or SPI in improving the quality of TP-added Cantonese sausages was also explored. The results showed that after the combined addition of TP, the addition of SPP or CYS decreased the hardness of TP-added sausage from 9 692.25 g to 7 563.41 g and 9 093.84 g, respectively, and with the addition of SPP increased the a* (10.42) and b* (8.44) values of the TP-sausage. In terms of sensory characteristics, the addition of SPI or CYS significantly increased the redness score of TP-sausage from 4.75 to 6.25 and 5.85, respectively. Meanwhile, the addition of CYS, SPP or SPI did not reduce the ability of TP to reduce sodium nitrite, with the combination of TP and CYS resulting in the lowest nitrite residue content (4.40 mg/kg). In conclusion, SPP and CYS can improve the texture and color of TP-sausage to certain extents. This study provides a new approach for improving the quality of TP-sausage.