Surimi production from pearl mullet and evaluation of some quality characteristics of the resultant surimi

In this study, surimi production was carried out from pearl mullet by different methods, resultant surimi was coated by different edible coatings and the changes in some quality parameters were investigated during cold storage. A total of 10 different surimi were obtained by salt precipitation, pH shifting and conventional methods. The surimi obtained by conventional method was preferable according to yield, dry matter content, protein ratio, textural parameters and gel strength. Therefore it was was coated with 4 different coating solutions and cold stored at +4°C for 10 days along with fish mince and uncoated surimi as the control. While the TVB-N values of the samples were not significantly increased during storage, the TVB-N value of the fish mince reached 53.6 mg/100 g sample on the 7th day of storage. pH value of fish mince was 7.05 at the beginning of storage and decreased to 6.84 on the 7th day of storage; while that of control surimi was 7.16 at the beginning and decreased to 4.88 at the 10th day of storage. pH value of coated samples was close to that of control. Hardness value of samples showed a steady increase during storage. Trend of changes in gumminess and chewiness was also similar to that of hardness. According to the results, gelatin and chitosan based edible films were not significantly useful in terms of a prolonged shelf life. On the ather hand, it was determined that surimi was more durable compared to fish mince. Formulation of edible coatings and possible use of different active ingredients in edible coatings should be further investigated. Keywords: Edible films, Gelatin, Pearl mullet, Surimi.