Abstract
Effects of addition of egg white or potato starch on texture of fish meat gels were studied. The various gels were prepared by cooking the mixture of egg white or potato starch and horse mackerel meat surimi with or without 20% water. Physical properties of gels were examined by texturometer tests, penetrometer tests and sensory tests. The drip during cooking was measured and histological structure of gels was observed by a microscope.
In sensory test, fish meat gels were judged to became softer, juicier and coarser as the increase of the egg white, while they were judged to be hard and fine in the case of addition of starch to the fish paste. The hardness of gels by the texturometer test became lower and penetration rate became higher as the increase of the egg white, but the drip was not changed. As the starch added increased, the hardness of gels became higher, and fragility became lower and further the drip decreased. The starch granules in the fish gels were considered to prevent the drip of surimi by swelling during cooking.
