1995 Volume 43 Issue 4 Pages 499-509
Seasonal Variation in body color and flesh characteristics were studied in two groups of cultured Japanese eel Anguilla Japonica ranked either high or low grade in the eel market. Flesh quality was investigated by chemical and physical analysis and compared to the results of a sensory test. The values of “chromaticity a” for the body color of both groups were high in spring and low in autumn. The differences in the chromaticity a between the two groups were smallest in summer. Meanwhile, the values of “chromaticity b” were lowest in summer. The differences between the two groups were smallest in summer.
The value of hardness of raw flesh decreased in summer, resulting in the smallest differences between the two grades. The value of hardness of flesh heated by steaming was low in summer and autumn. The content of crude lipid was higher in the high grade eel than in the low grade eel throughout all seasons. The contents of moisture and crude protein were generally smaller in the former than the in latter. There was no seasonal variation in free amin acid content except that histidine content was higher in winter. The histidine content was reduced by heating treatment. No seasonal change in the fatty acid composition of the edible part was observed. Heating treatment caused no change in its composition. In sensory tests, the high grade eel was given higher evaluations than the low grade eel and the differences in evaluation appeared to be smaller in summer than in the other seasons.
