Evaluation of the quality of frozen surimi using suwari reaction speed and activation energy

Abstract

This study investigated possible differences in the suwari reaction among surimi and examined the possibility of using measurements obtained during the analysis of the suwari reaction as measures of quality. The changes in breaking strength during the suwari reaction of six kinds of frozen surimi, comprising high-grade and low-grade samples of three species – blue grenadier, Alaska pollock, and threadfin bream – were examined to determine the setting speed and activation energy. There was little difference in the setting speed between the grades of each fish species, likely due to the lower setting ability of the low-grade surimi which quickly reached the maximum breaking strength. In contrast, the activation energy of the high-grade surimi samples of all three species was lower by 1.3–2.5 times. Thus, the activation energy of the suwari reaction was demonstrated to be an effective measure of surimi setting ability and quality, which varies between species and surimi grade.