Quality enhancement of large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) during frozen (-18 ºC) storage by spiral freezing

Abstract

This paper investigated the effect of freezing methods on moisture distribution, freshness, protein properties, and microstructure of large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) during freezing and frozen (−18°C) storage. The methods of freezing include, refrigerator freezing (RF), plate freezing (PF), spiral freezing (SF), immersion freezing (IF), and liquid nitrogen freezing (NF). The results showed that RF took the longest time, 587.3 min, and the freezing rate of PF, SF, IF and NF was more than ten times that of RF. In general, the SF, IF, and NF have better-related quality characteristics during 90 days of frozen storage, with a small change in quality compared to day 5, but for water distribution, IF performed poorly. For microstructure and protein-related characteristics, NF somewhat destroyed the fiber of muscle and the structure of the myofibrillar protein. In conclusion, SF was a worthy method to maintain the quality of large yellow croaker fish during freezing.