Sous-vide cooking: Effects on seafood quality and combination with other hurdles

Abstract

Seafood has a very limited shelf life due to its high water activity, neutral pH and nutrient-rich content. Sous vide is a cooking method in which the product is heat-processed in a vacuum bag at precisely controlled temperatures. Sous-vide processing of seafood may provide a wide range of products with longer shelf life and easy to prepare. Thanks to vacuum packaging, recontamination, oxidation, aerobic bacterial growth, and moisture loss are prevented while desired aroma compounds are retained. On the other hand, the anaerobic conditions in the package could permit the growth of anaerobic spore-forming pathogens. This review will address the effects of sous-vide cooking on protein, lipid, vitamin, water contents, sensory and texture properties of seafood, and the possible combination of the sous-vide technique with other interventions such as irradiation, natural preservatives, High-Pressure Processing, etc.