Characteristics of surimi gelfrom Oreochromis mossambicus in different aquaculture areas

Abstract

Gelling properties of surimi can be influenced by quality of tilapia meat. Meanwhile, the quality of meat can be influenced by aquaculture conditions and aquaculture areas. Hence, the objective of this research was to examine the quality of surimi with tilapia as raw materials cultivated in different areas. Tilapia cultivated in Sentani Lake, Rawa Pening Lake, and Wadas lintang Reservoir will be used for producing surimi in this study. The results showed that tilapia cultivated in Rawa Pening Lake can produce surimi with the highest gel strength and the lowest expressible moisture content than others (p<0.05). Rawa Pening Lake tilapia surimi has characteristics including gel strength of 842.68 ± 118.11 g.cm, whiteness 76.10 ± 0.83, expressible moisture content 13.96 ± 3.18%, hardness 0.31 ± 0.09 kg.f, and springiness 6.62 ± 0.41 mm. Based on the observation of microstructure by using SEM, it showed that Rawa Pening Lake tilapia surimi produces a denser and finer gel network. Therefore, Rawa Pening Lake tilapia could be used as the alternative raw material for surimi.