Quality of Fish Ball from Surimi as Affected by Starch and Sterilizing Conditions

Abstract

Effects of starch and sterilizing conditions on the quality of surimi protein gel formed in fish ball were investigated by measuring gel strength (GS), water holding capacity (WHC), folding test, whiteness and SDS-PAGE. Before sterilization, addition of 5% tapioca flour (TF), corn flour (CF), wheat flour (WF) or modified starch (MS) to SA grade surimi promoted GS of fish balls better than that without starch but WHC was not significantly different (p>0.05). On the contrary, after sterilization at 112°c and 116°C with the F_o values of 3 and 6 min, the GS of fish balls with starch decreased at 47-58% more than that without starch which decreased at 11-38% while WHC decreased slightly. Sterilized fish balls without starch had the highest GS at 112°c F_o of 3 min and the highest WHC at 116°C F_o of 3 min. Comparing within fish balls with starch, fish ball with MS and WF sterilized at 116°C F_o 3 min had higher GS than the others. However, the sensory scores of texture and overall liking of fish balls with MS heated at 112°c F_o of 3 min and that without starch at 116°C F_o of 3 and 6 min were not significantly different (p>0.05). The whiteness slightly decreased after sterilization and all samples were rated AA in the folding tests.