Tenderness and histochemistry of muscle tissues from Eriocheir sinensis

Abstract

Texture is the most important factor influencing consumer satisfaction with crab meat palatability. A valuable micro method using particle size analysis was developed to qualitatively determine cooked meat tenderness of different muscle tissues. The test was successfully used with Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis), horse crab (Portunus trituberculatus), manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum), red swamp crawfish (Procambarus clarkii), and crucian carp (Carassius auratus). It was observed that the method produces tenderness values that correlate (R2 = 0.910) well with the sensory evaluation (p < 0.01). These results suggested that the breaking rate of muscle fiber using the entropy weighted coefficient method can be quantified to reflect meat tenderness, which is very suitable for cooked meat with low-fat, low connective tissue, and meat which is hard to cut into specific shapes. The histochemical and textural properties were different for the different edible muscle tissues. Tenderness had a high correlation with moisture, myofibrillar proteins and the water holding capacity. Furthermore, the myofibrillar protein (about 70 g/100 g crude protein) was the main determinant of tenderness. This study suggested that it might be possible to develop a more widely applicable method for evaluating the cooked texture of crustaceans.