Dried fish-filled rice ball: A new ready-to-eat product, consumer preferences and nutritional aspects

Abstract

Due to time constraints, demands for ready-to-eat products are skyrocketing. A traditional Bangladeshi meal such as rice and fish is often found troublesome to be eaten in workplaces while taking excessive preparation time. With this in mind, a nutritious value-added product, namely, rice ball filled with mixed dried small indigenous species (SIS) fish powder was developed in the laboratory. Eight separate compositions of the product were prepared by combining two types of cooked rice, and mixed dried fish stuffing consisting of Amblypharyngodon mola, Puntius sophore and Corica soborna. Four categories of panelists scored the prepared products on the basis of the attributes and overall likings. Statistical tests proved the ball prepared from non-gruelled rice and oven dried fish powder (RB6) to be the preferred one while the products varied in odor, mouthfeel, taste and texture. The study revealed that plain rice now contained more protein (4.73 ± 0.20 % to 7.82 ± 0.15 %) and lipid (1.44 ± 0.20 % to 3.73 ± 0.07 %) due to the addition of dry fish powder. Taking the quality and microbial parameters as well as the trace element level into consideration, the developed product showed negligible quality compromisation while pH was nearly neutral. The present study suggests that dried fish-filled rice ball could be a viable commercial product with high nutritional and quality attributes.