2018 Volume 24 Issue 6 Pages 999-1006
The effects of “setting-heating-freezing” procedure (SHF) and “setting-freezing-reheating” procedure (SFR) on the quality changes of surimi gels with or without starch after frozen storage were evaluated and compared. The samples were frozen and stored at −20°C for 28 days. Surimi gels without starch subjected to SFR showed larger ice crystals after freezing, greater microstructural damage after thawing, and higher total drip loss. In contrast, starch-surimi gels subjected to SFR showed less structural damage, smaller void size, and reduced total drip loss, attributed to the un-gelatinized starch granules before freezing and gelatinization after reheating. Changes in physical properties were related to changes in gel microstructure and starch granules, and a high gel strength was maintained in starch-surimi gels subjected to SFR after frozen storage. These results indicate that the SFR procedure can effectively reduce the quality changes in frozen starch-surimi gels.
