A Comparative Study on Physicochemical and Sensory Characteristics of Minced Fish and Surimi from Black Mouth Croaker (Atrobucca nibe)

Abstract

Commercial utilization of black mouth croaker (Atrobucca nibe) is in progress in Iran. This study was carried out to assess the physicochemical and sensory evaluation of minced fish and surimi prepared from small size of A. nibe, which is not common for human consumption. The surimi proximate composition contains protein (14.77±0.506%), lipid (0.94±0.081%), ash (0.58±0.007%) contents and yield rate (36.56±0.732%) were significantly lower than the mince, while the moisture content was higher in the surimi (79.58±0.729%) as compared to the mince (78.49±0.687%) (P< 0.05). Total volatile bases and thiobarbituric acid values of black mouth croaker surimi were 4.76±0.594 mg N 100 g-1, and 0.40±0.018 mg malondialdehyde kg-1, which, respectively, were significantly lower than those found for the minced fish (P< 0.05). Minced fish delivered significantly lower water holding capacity and pH value than the surimi (P< 0.05). Higher whiteness index was obtained in the surimi (66.23±0.029%) compared to the mince (51.68±0.020%) (P< 0.05). Total lipids of surimi contained more polyunsaturated fatty acids (36.32±0.257 g 100 g-1 total lipids) than other fatty acids of the minced fish (P< 0.05). Fish fingers prepared from the surimi obtained a higher mean score of all attributes (8.71±0.366) than the minced fish (7.47±0.326) (P< 0.05). It was concluded that this white-fleshed fish species was an appropriate raw material for surimi production. Further trials are needed to evaluate the surimi gel characteristics. Keywords: Black mouth croaker, Fatty acids, Fish finger, Minced fish, Surimi,