1996 Volume 43 Issue 7 Pages 780-786
Effects of microbial transglutaminase (MTGase) on the texture of gel prepared from suketoudara surimi were investigated. The jelly strength and strain of the gel increased with an increase of MTGase. The texture improvement of surimi gel by MTGase was related to salt concentration, namely the jelly strength increased with an increase in salt concentration. The texture improvement by MTGase was observed even in low concentration of surimi diluted with water. The increase in jelly strength and strain of the gel was depressed by an addition of sucrose, and enhanced by an addition of potato starch. In the cases of the setting at below 30°C and at low concentrations of MTGase, the jelly strength increased in accordance with the prolongation of setting time. On the other hand, in the case of the setting at 40°C and 50°C, the jelly strength increased with setting time, and then reached constant. The content of ε-(γ-Glu) Lys linkage increased with an increase of MTGase. Especially, in the cases of suketoudara SA, its content increased rapidly by the setting at low temperature. Based on the results of SDS-PAGE, the band of myosin heavy chain (MHC) of SA surimi paled in the presence of MTGase above 1.5-3u/g protein, and that of C surimi faded at MTGase concentrations above 3-5u/g protein.
