Effect of water washing on biochemical and gel characteristics of minced meat from croaker fish (Johnius gangeticus)

Quality of analog fishery products invariably depends on the gel characteristics and nutritional status of minced meat. With an objective to find out the effect of water washing on kamaboko gel, the minced meat from Croaker fish was washed for four times (5 minutes each) using chilled water at a temperature of 8-10°C. Results reflected noticeable improvement in folding test and SSN% of kamaboko with essential decrease in fat content, water soluble proteins, expressible water and quality parameters like NPN, VBN, TMA, FFA and PV denoting superior gel quality than control sample after repeated washing. The results indicated that there was a definite improvement in functional properties such as gel forming ability, expressible water content of the croaker minced meat essential decrease in fat content, water soluble proteins, expressible water and quality parameters after each wash, but two washes of 5 minutes duration each was necessary to achieve satisfactory results.