Effect of heating conditions and food-quality-improvement agents on the physical properties, palatability, and chewability of fish

Abstract

［Aim］　We investigated the physical properties, palatability, and chewiness of fish meat after treatment with a texturizer and/or different heating conditions (normal pan or pressure cooker).

［Methods］　Fish meat samples were immersed in distilled water or 3％ texturizer solution and then heated in either a normal pan or pressure cooker. We measured the compressive stress, hardness, cohesiveness, and adhesiveness of the samples, and employed young and elderly testers for sensory evaluation. The young testers also underwent electromyography (EMG) .

［Results］　Samples treated with texturizer had smaller weight reduction rates and lower values of compressive stress and hardness than did samples that were not. The samples treated with texturizer were evaluated favorably in sensory evaluations by both the young and elderly testers, who described the fish meat as soft, cohesive, easy to chew, easy to swallow, palatable, and tasty. For the fish meat treated with texturizer, EMG showed a reduced number of chews from the start of the oral preparatory phase until the oral transit phase of swallowing. Treatment with texturizer shortened the active mastication period and oral preparatory time, and also decreased mastication effort. No difference in softening was observed between the different heating methods.

［Conclusion］　We confirmed that the use of a texturizer improved softening due to enzymatic protein degradation and moisture retention by sodium bicarbonate.