Effects of Gelation Conditions and Egg White Protein Content on Gel Properties of Surimi from Frozen Horse-Mackerel (Trachurus trachurus)

Horse-mackerel(Trachurus trachurus) is one of the major economic fish consumed in China,but it still has not been commercialized to surimi-based products due to its high-fat content and low gel-forming capability.The effect of egg white protein(EWP) on proteolysis of horse-mackerel and gel properties of horse-mackeral surimi prepared at different heating conditions(30 ℃/90 ℃ and 50 ℃/90 ℃) was investigated.Regardless of heating conditions,addition of EWP resulted in increased breaking force and deformation of surimi gel(P0.05) when compared with the control sample.The best gel properties were observed with 1% EWP at 30 ℃ for 5 h and then heating at 90 ℃ for 20 min.No change in whiteness were observed in gel with the addition of EWP less than 1%(P0.05),while addition of more than 5% EWP resulted in a lower whiteness(P0.05).The microstructure of surimi gel generally became denser with the addition of EWP.