Sensory effects of meat reduction in a traditional semi-solid dish (Keşkek): an exploratory trained panel study

Keşkek is a traditional Turkish dish whose sensory characteristics are largely defined by a dominant cereal–meat semi-solid structure. The Keşkek tradition was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011 (Turkey). Importantly, it is not an isolated culinary case but represents a broader class of long-cooked cereal–meat semi-solid dishes documented across diverse food cultures, extending the relevance of the present study beyond a single regional context. Although meat reduction has been widely studied in solid meat products and processed meat analogs, less is known about its sensory consequences in traditional semi-solid dishes, such as porridges, stews, and pottages, in which cereals or legumes and meat are integrated through prolonged cooking into cohesive structures. This study investigated how trained chef panelists perceived progressive reductions in meat content in Keşkek. Expert sensory evaluation was conducted using a full-meat control and 75%, 50%, 25%, and 0% meat formulations. After correction for multiple comparisons, no formulation versus control comparison differed significantly on any sensory attribute, and the attribute-level omnibus tests did not remain significant. Exploratory multidimensional scaling indicated gradual multivariate separation among formulations, but this pattern was interpreted as exploratory rather than confirmatory. Overall, Keşkek may offer a useful model system for studying gradual meat reduction in traditional semi-solid meat-based dishes and for extending meat reduction research beyond solid meat products.