Elsevier

Food Chemistry

Volume 109, Issue 2, 15 July 2008, Pages 332-339
Food Chemistry

Gelation properties of previously cooked minced meat from Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) as affected by washing treatment and salt concentration

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2007.12.044Get rights and content

Abstract

The influence of washing treatment (dewatered only, one wash, and three washes) and sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration (0%, 2%, and 4%) on the gelation properties of crab mince was investigated. This previously cooked muscle mince is a low-value by-product of the crab processing industry, considered to have little or no functional properties. Crab mince gels were produced and tested for water-holding capacity (WHC), gel strength, colour, and electrophoretic profile. Wash treatment and NaCl concentration significantly affected gelation. Washed samples exhibited significantly higher WHC than dewatered samples. The 4% NaCl treatment decreased WHC compared to lower NaCl levels. Multiple washing steps increased the force to gel deformation. Wash treatment and NaCl concentration also affected the colour of gels. Based on these results, cooked crab meat mince treated with three washes and 0% NaCl resulted in the strongest gels with the best water-holding capacity, which can be used in the development of value-added products.

Introduction

Last year, 3036 metric tonnes of Jonah crab (Cancer borealis) were harvested in the US (National Marine Fisheries Service, 2006), primarily as a by-catch of the lobster industry in Maine and Massachusetts. There has been an increase in consumer demand for Jonah crab claws due to their mild flavour and relatively low cost. Though the claws have become a popular consumer item, much of the remaining crab meat is wasted after removal of the claws. A mechanical deboner can be used to produce a relatively low-value meat mince from the residual muscle that can be added to a variety of food products for the food service industry. However, newer higher value uses for crab mince are needed to increase profitability and total utilization of marine resources.

Underutilized fish species and by-products of fish processing can be used in the development of new products to gain a greater value from the original resource. Processing these meat by-products into surimi is one way of increasing utilization of the resource. Earlier research showed that previously cooked minced crab meat could be used in the formation of surimi-like gels (Baxter & Skonberg, 2006). In traditional surimi processing, sodium chloride is added to raw muscle mince to aid in gel formation. The sodium chloride initiates the conversion of surimi into a kamaboko style gel by forming an actomyosin sol from the actin and myosin present (Hall & Ahmad, 1997). Typically, between 2% and 3% sodium chloride has been added to aid in gel formation. However, Lin, Park, and Morrissey (1995) showed that significant amounts of myofibrillar proteins in fish are solubilized in very low (near zero) ionic strength solutions. In raw cod muscle, the solubility of proteins in near zero ionic strength solutions was greater than the solubility at high ionic strengths (Stefansson & Hultin, 1994). Low salt concentrations allow proteins to be surrounded by salt ions of opposite charge which decreases the electrostatic free energy leading to increased activity of the solvent resulting in greater solubility of proteins (Debye & Huckel, 1923). This salting-in phenomenon is attributed to nonspecific electrostatic interactions between charged proteins and the ionic environment which leads to solubilization (von-Hippel & Schleich, 1969). As the salt concentration in a solution is increased, the salt ions compete with the proteins for binding sites on the water molecules, resulting in greater protein–protein interactions and leading to the precipitation of proteins. Salting-out occurs at high salt concentrations and is attributed to the loss of a stable hydrophilic surface, causing exposed hydrophobic areas of the proteins to interact, aggregate, and precipitate. The contradictory research showing that proteins are most soluble at both high and low ionic strengths, suggest that the traditionally used levels of sodium chloride of 2–3% may be higher than what is needed for gelation of muscle proteins.

Processing of raw fish into surimi requires several washing steps. The washing steps not only remove fat, sarcoplasmic proteins, and other undesirable substances such as blood, pigments and odorous compounds, but also concentrate the myofibrillar proteins to enhance gelation (Mendes & Nunes, 1992). The number of washing cycles and ratio of water to mince needed varies with fish species, initial condition of the fish, and the type of operation, either continuous or batch processing (Lee, 1984). In general, a five minute agitation in each of two washing cycles using a 3:1 (v/w; water to mince) ratio has been considered adequate for raw fish surimi production (Lee, 1986). Pacheco-Aguilar, Crawford, and Lampila (1989) investigated the effect of washing in Pacific whiting surimi production and reported that removal of lipids was not efficiently achieved using a single wash with a 3:1 ratio (v/w; water to mince) but resulted in high solids and protein recoveries which are often low in multiple exchange washing procedures. Up to 38% of the solids were lost in a third wash cycle (Lin & Park, 1996). Reducing the number of washing cycles is important in overall recovery of solids and maximization of yield as well as decreasing the wash water volume.

Previous studies by other researchers have focused on gelation of raw fish muscle. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of washing and sodium chloride addition on the gelation of previously cooked crab muscle proteins. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the effects of washing treatment (dewatered only, one wash, and three washes) and sodium chloride level (0%, 2%, and 4%) on the gel formation of previously cooked Jonah crab meat mince.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Frozen, commercially available Jonah crab meat mince processed in the following manner was obtained from Portland Shellfish (Portland, Maine, USA): crabs had been eviscerated, boiled for 14 min without the top portion of the carapace, and cooled. Cooked crabs were kept on ice until mince was separated later the same day. Claws were removed and the remaining meat was separated using a mechanical deboning machine. The mince consisted of meat from the body and walking legs. Ten pounds of mince were

Proximate analysis

Proximate analysis characterized the different crab mince gels as having less than 1% fat, 6.5 to 6.9% ash, 13.6 to 16.8% protein, and 79.6 to 81.0% moisture (Table 1). Based on multi-way analysis of variance, the crude fat content was significantly greater (p < 0.05) in the control (dewatered only) samples with an average of 1.0% fat than the other wash treatments at 0.9% fat for one wash and 0.7% fat for three washes. The addition of salt did not affect the fat content of the samples. The ash

Conclusions

Protein gels were formed using previously cooked proteins from Jonah crab (C. borealis) minced meat. A three wash treatment resulted in the gels with the best gel strength and water-holding capacity. Given that little protein was removed in the third washing cycle, it was determined that two wash cycles will be adequate for future gelation studies. The improved characteristics due to washing are likely due to the removal of tropomyosin, troponin, and myosin light chain in the first two washes

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Portland Shellfish in Portland, ME for their generous support of this research. This manuscript is number 2988 of the University of Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station.

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