A Novel Ketchup Formulation Enriched With Concentrated Shalgam Juice (Fermented Black Carrot Beverage): Enhanced Sensory Quality and Bioactive Content Without Compromising Color or Textural Quality.

This study aimed to enhance the nutritional, functional, and sensory properties of ketchup by incorporating traditional fermented Turkish shalgam juice. Five ketchup formulations were prepared using concentrated shalgam juice and concentrated tomato puree at ratios of 0:100 (S0), 25:75 (S25), 50:50 (S50), 75:25 (S75), and 100:0 (S100). Their physicochemical, textural, rheological, bioactive, and sensory properties were evaluated. The addition of shalgam juice significantly increased firmness, consistency, and antioxidant activity (AA) (p < 0.05). In contrast, it significantly decreased cohesiveness, viscosity index, and l-ascorbic acid content (p < 0.05). Total phenolic content exhibited an increasing trend. No serum separation was observed in any of the samples. All ketchup samples containing shalgam juice exhibited non-Newtonian behavior and a viscoelastic, solid-like structure. Sensory evaluation showed that S50 had the highest color-appearance score, whereas S25 had the highest scores for texture-consistency, taste-odor, and overall liking. S50 ranked second for taste-odor and overall liking, followed by S0. S50 and S0 did not differ significantly except in color-appearance (p > 0.05). Sensory scores decreased above 50% shalgam juice substitution, with S100 showing the lowest scores. Ketchup formulated with up to 50% concentrated shalgam juice was sensorially acceptable and showed improved functional properties. At 50% replacement, FRAP value increased significantly by 48.1% (p < 0.05), whereas ABTS and CUPRAC values increased by 23.1% and 9.6%, respectively, without significant differences. Total monomeric anthocyanin content increased from 0 to 17.17 mg/kg (p < 0.05). These findings highlight the potential of shalgam juice as a functional ingredient for the development of ketchups with enhanced bioactive and sensory characteristics.