Investigation on the Suitability of Some Marine Fish Species in Bangladesh for Surimi Production

Abstract

The gel-forming ability of Pennahia pawak (Pawak croaker), Sphyraena obtusata (Obtuse barracuda), Gazza minuta (Toothed ponyfish), Sillaginopsis panijus (Flathead sillago), and Ablennes hians (Flat needlefish) was evaluated to determine their suitability for producing high-quality surimi. To assess gel-forming properties, some of the mince washed with water that contained 0.1% NaCl. After washing, the minced fish was ground with 3% NaCl for 20 minutes at 4°C. The prepared paste was filled into polyethylene tubes and heated in a water bath at 50°C for 2 hours. The suwari gels formed were evaluated using puncture, folding, and teeth-cutting tests. Among the species studied, P. pawak exhibited the highest gel strength when preheated at 50°C. Consequently, it was selected for further research as a promising candidate for applications requiring strong gel formation. To determine how washing and heating influence its ability to form a gel, both washed and unwashed salt-ground (3% NaCl) fish mince were subjected to incubation in water baths at 40°C, 50°C, and 60°C for 2 hours (one-step heating), afterward an additional 30 minutes at 90°C (two-step heating) to form gels. At 40°C, the highest gel strength was observed for both one-step and two-step heating, with the two-step heating process yielding superior gelling performance compared to one-step heating. Washing significantly improved texture and color, reinforcing that surimi prepared from washed mince is always of higher quality than that made from unwashed mince. The impact of salt concentration on P. pawak gel texture was also investigated using 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, and 5% NaCl. The highest gel strength was observed with 3% NaCl during grinding. Moreover, fish mince was washed with NaCl solutions at concentrations of 0%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.15%, and 0.2% to examine the effect of the washing solution on gel formation. The strongest gel was achieved using mince washed with a 0.1% NaCl solution. Storage conditions significantly influenced gel quality. The gel-forming ability of P. pawak declined with prolonged storage, with the strongest gels obtained from fish stored fresh or on ice for 3–4 hours. In contrast, fish stored on ice for extended periods or frozen at -20°C for 20 days exhibited a notable decline in gel strength. Additionally, the processing yield of P. pawak revealed a total muscle yield of 50.71 ± 0.79%, comprising 97.38 ± 0.48% white muscle and 2.62 ± 0.28% dark muscle. These findings suggest that P. pawak is a highly suitable species for producing value-added and surimi-based products.