Abstract
To utilize blue shark Prionace glauca meat, acid-induced gel (i. e. Sujime gel) property of the fish meat, which can be produced by soaking suwari gel in vinegar, was investigated and improved. Both suwari gel and acid-induced gel could not be obtained by the same method empirically applied to other fish meats, including Alaska pollack frozen surimi. The endogenous transglutaminase activity of the shark meat was extremely low, compared to that of fishes used for gel product. The endogenous protease activity, including acid-activated protease activity, was also low. By the addition of microbial transglutaminase (MTGase), the suwari gel was formed, and excellent acid-induced gel could be obtained by soaking suwari gel in acetic acid solution. The egg white, which is one of the essential additives to prepare acid-induced gel from Alaska pollack, had no effects on the acid-induced gel property from the shark meat. Those suggest that acid-induced gel from blue shark meat can be obtained by soaking MTGase-induced suwari gel in vinegar.
