Lengthwise Cutting of Frozen Fish by Cylinder Splitting Load

Abstract

We have previously shown the feasibility of a round slice-cutting method for small fish such as mackerel and saury, where a three point bending load is applied to frozen fish for cutting. The present study examines a filleting method in which a cylinder splitting load is applied to frozen round sliced fish to further cut the fish lengthwise. Splitting tests were conducted at the freezing temperature range from -190 to -20°C using abdominal test pieces (viscera included) and tail test pieces (no viscera) as the samples to determine the optimum temperature where lengthwise cutting could be successfully achieved. In the abdominal test pieces, lengthwise cutting that simultaneously separated the vertebra, neural spine and viscera from the fillet became possible within the range from -120 to -60°C. In the tail test pieces, lengthwise cutting that simultaneously separated the vertebra, neural spine and viscera from the fillet became possible within a range from -140 to -80°C.