Functional Properties of Surimi Powder prepared from Croaker fish (Otolihoides biauritus).

Abstract

Surimi industry forms an important sector in fish processing because of useful functional properties found in surimi which makes it a suitable raw material in the manufacture of restructured products. However, prolonged cold storage of surimi results in deterioration of its quality and increases storage costs. Therefore, drying surimi under controlled condition to make surimi powder which is stable at room temperature can be an alternative to traditional surimi and this leads to a new approach in surimi industry. In the present study, mechanical drying technique was evaluated for surimi powder prepared from croaker fish (Otolihoides biauritus). Functional properties of the prepared surimi powder were studied. This study revealed that the proximate composition of surimi and surimi powder showed significant difference (p<0.05) in protein, fat and ash contents. Functional quality parameters of surimi powder like solubility, water holding capacity, emulsifying capacity and foaming capacity values were 18.4%, 11 ml g-1, 40% and 37.5% respectively. Instrumental colour parameters such as lightness, redness and yellowness values were significantly higher (p<0.05) in surimi powder than the surimi. Whiteness index observed was significantly higher (p<0.05) in surimi powder than the surimi. These results indicate that surimi powders can be used as a functional ingredient for the preparation of fish-based products as well as in food formulations, which of course need separate studies.