Studies on the ohmic thawing of frozen surimi

Abstract

A new ohmic thawing system was tested with a frozen saline surimi cube. The thawing rate and surimi gel strength in the ohmic thawing process were investigated, in comparison with conventional thawing technique. The electric mechanism for the ohmic thawing process was also discussed. Under the condition of the applied voltage of 20 V and frequency of 60 Hz, a homogeneous temperature distribution in the frozen surimi was obtained when the concentration of electrode solution was below 4.0%. The thawing rate increased linearly with the increasing concentration of electrode solution. The changes in thawing rate and temperature distribution with the concentration of electrode solution could be explained by an equivalent electric circuit. The ohmic thawing had a higher thawing rate and resulted in stronger gels than the conventional thawing. The present study indicates that the ohmic thawing system can be applied well in the thawing of frozen surimi.