Characteristics of salt-fermented sauces from shrimp processing byproducts

A salt-fermented sauce from shrimp processing byproducts (heads, shells, and tails) was prepared and characterized. Three types of sauces were prepared; sauce C, with 30 g of salt/100 g of byproduct (high salt); sauce E, with 30 g of salt and 0.2 g of sodium erythorbate (high salt); and sauce L, with 20 g of salt, 0.2 g of sodium erythorbate, 6 g of sorbitol, 0.5 mL of lactic acid, and 5 mL of ethanol (low salt). Sauces C and E showed higher exopeptidase activities than sauce L, whereas sauce L showed the highest endopeptidase activity. After 3 months of fermentation, the amino N content of sauce increased from 150-200 to 500-600 mg/100 g and the nonprotein nitrogen content increased from 300 to 950-1050 mg/100 g. Volatile basic nitrogen content increased significantly from 18 to 60 mg/100 g. The total carotenoids retained in sauces C, E, and L were 26.3, 76.2, and 73%, respectively, thus indicating that the addition of sodium erythorbate to sauces E and L retarded oxidation. Water activities of sauces C, E, and L were 0.753, 0.751, and 0.773, respectively. According to the omission test, the taste of sauces was influenced by the content of free amino acids, mainly glutamic acid and aspartic acid. All three sauces examined showed a 35% higher total amino acid content than commercial salt-fermented shrimp sauces. Therefore, shrimp processing byproducts may lend themselves to the preparation of high-quality salt-fermented sauces.