Effects of temperature on gel hardness of heat-induced meat paste gel and turbidity of myosin B solution prepared from shark muscle were investigated by applying to kinetics.
Their changes with time apparently proceeded to first-order reaction. The Arrhenius plots of their change rates for gel hardness and turbidity showed two straight lines with different slopes and indicated in the transition at 50 and 51°C, respectively. On the other hand, the gel hardness changed little up to 40°C and then increased to 70°C. The turbidity increased at 40-50°C and then decreased gradually on increasing the temperature. The typical network structure of heat-induced myosin B gel was observed above 50°C by scanning electron micrographs.
The results described above showed that the gel-forming reaction system of meat paste from smooth dogfish muscle during heating could be divided into two characteristic temperature ranges: below and above 50°C. The aggregation reaction takes place below 50°C and the gelation reaction occurs above 50°C.