Quality evaluation of bakasang processed with variation of salt concentration, temperature and fermentation time

Abstract

Background and Objective: Production of bakasang in North Sulawesi has not been standardized. Local people still produce it without considering the optimal conditions and the fermentation is done in a simple way. The fish viscera is traditionally fermented inside a bottle with addition of salt and incubated under the sun for a few days until it turns into a liquid. In this present study, the quality of bakasang was assessed during various fermentation condition. Materials and Methods: The viscera of fresh cakalang (Katsuwonus pelamis) fish was fermented under various temperatures (30, 50 and 70°C) for 5, 10 and 15 days with the addition of 10, 20 and 30% of salt. The property of quality included pH, moisture content, free fatty acid (FFA) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) of the bakasang product. Results: The results of this study indicated that moisture content ranged from 16.42-77.98%. Moisture content decreased with increasing the salinity, fermentation temperature and fermentation time. The pH of bakasang ranged from 5.66-6.73. The pH of bakasang decreased with the increasing salinity. The FFA level ranged from 1.42-5.18, it increased with increasing fermentation time but decreased with increasing fermentation temperature and increased salt level. The TBA (expressed in malondialdehyde/MDA) level varied from 0.53-4.81 g/100 g, it decreased with increasing salinity and fermentation temperature but decreased with increasing fermentation time. Conclusion: The data revealed that based on the property of quality, the best product was bakasang produced using salt 20-30% at 70°C which was fermented for 15 days.