Several technical factors affecting the texture of reconstructed sardine meat.

Abstract

Reconstructed sardine meat was prepared from a mixture of sardine mince and sodium alginate by the aid of dialysis with respect to CaCl2 solution. A soft consistency was preferred to match with Western style dishes. The effect of NaCl or MgCl2 included in the CaCl2 solution and the effect of enzyme treatment of sardine mince were investigated to obtain a soft consistency. When the NaCI concentration was more than 0.1M, the jelly strength became remarkably smaller than that at 0.00M NaCl. As the NaCl concentration increased, breaking deformation increased at the early stage of dialysis. A suitable soft consistency was obtained by 0.1M NaCl and 48h dialysis. The jelly strength at 0.004M MgCl2 was remarkably smaller than that at 0.000M MgCl2. As the MgCl2 concentration increased, breaking deformation increased at the early stage of dialysis, but decreased at the late stage. A moderate consistency was obtained by 0.016M MgCl2 and 48h dialysis but was unacceptable due to other attributes. As the enzyme concentration increased, the jelly strength increased at the early stage of dialysis, but decreased at the late stage and as the enzyme concentration increased, breaking deformation increased, and maximum breaking deformation was observed when enzyme concentration was 0.5%. When the time for enzyme treatment was increased, the jelly strength and breaking deformation increased once and then decreased, and the maximum jelly strength and breaking deformation were observed when the time for enzyme treatment was 30min. A suitable soft consistency was obtained by enzyme treatment for 30min at 0.5% enzyme and 48h dialysis.