Fine segmentation-driven quality enhancement of unrinsed surimi: Decoupling component differentials for surimi...

The rinsing treatment in conventional surimi processing causes nutrient/flavor loss and wastewater generation, raising environmental concerns. Therefore, exploring novel environmentally-friendly and efficient processing strategies for surimi production is of significance. In this study, the effects of fine segmentation combined with bubble cleaning on the composition and gel properties of unrinsed silver carp surimi were investigated. Compared to the control group of unrinsed surimi, fine segmentation with bubble cleaning reduced cathepsin activity by 61.84 %, hemoglobin by 75.84 % and increased the whiteness and gel strength by 10.41 % and 46.26 %, respectively, giving whiteness and gel properties of unrinsed surimi approximately equivalent to those of traditional rinsed surimi. Furthermore, unrinsed surimi with fine segmentation had higher contents of free amino acids (4112.85 μg/g) and nucleotides (113.32 μg/g). Overall, fine segmentation with bubble cleaning improved the flavor characteristics and product yield of unrinsed surimi with good whiteness and gel properties.