Effect of tea extract (Camellia sinensis) on shelf life and intrinsic quality of tempeh

Abstract

Tempeh is Indonesian traditional food made from fermented soybeans. Tempeh has a short shelf life due to its high moisture content and the activity of microorganisms. The shelf life of tempeh can be increased by using tea extract in tempeh processing because tea contains antioxidant and antimicrobial components. This research aims to evaluate the effect of using tea extract in tempeh processing on the shelf life, physicochemical characteristics, and sensory profile of tempeh. During storage, the shelf-life test used the descriptive observation method on the color, flavor, taste, and texture. The use of 0.5% black tea extract in the initial soaking of soybeans can increase the shelf life of tempeh to 4 and 6 days at room and refrigerator temperature, respectively. The result showed that tempeh had significantly (p<0.05) lower ash content (0.81% wb), brightness (65.37), and pH (6.50), while the texture (15.3 Kg force) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the control (untreated tempeh). The results of sensory evaluation using the hedonic rating test showed that fresh tempeh with black tea extract treatment had significantly lower (p<0.05) color, texture, and overall attributes than the control one. The same evaluation on fried tempeh showed that the black tea extract treatment significantly increased (p<0.05) the texture attribute compared to the control.