Biochemical and gelling properties of silver carp surimi as affected by harvesting season and chopping time

Abstract

Biochemical and gelling properties of silver carp surimi as affected by harvesting season and chopping process were investigated. Myosin from summer surimi exhibited higher endothermic transition peak temperatures and enthalpies compared to that from winter surimi. As the chopping time increased, surface hydrophobicity of summer surimi continuously increased, α-helical structure decreased, and β-sheet increased. However, surface hydrophobicity of winter surimi slightly increased as chopping continued to 9 min and then decreased, and secondary structures slightly changed. With chopping time increasing, both Ca2+-ATPase activities and surface active sulfhydryl contents of two types of surimi climbed up and then declined, but with different transition patterns. The maximum textural values of summer and winter surimi gels were obtained at 12 and 15 min of chopping, respectively. Results indicated thermal stability of proteins from silver carp was changed by harvesting season, which affected proteins’ unfolding during chopping and gelling properties. Practical applications Silver carp harvested in summer and winter was used for surimi production. Our results showed that myosin from summer surimi was thermally more stable than that of winter surimi. Thermal stability of proteins affected proteins' unfolding and surimi's gelling properties. The optimum chopping time was suggested 9–12 min and 12–18 min, for summer and winter silver carp surimi, respectively, under room temperature with a recirculating cooler (2°C). This study is helpful for maintaining the good quality of surimi-based products made from silver carp.