Instrumental quality attributes of single washed surimi gels of tilapia: Effect of different washing media

- Good quality grade surimi can be obtained from tilapia through alkaline saline washing with single wash cycle.
- The α -helix band disappeared in surimi gel except for surimi washed with cold water.
- β-sheet formation correlated with the gel strength.
- Endothermic transition was not found in alkaline saline washed surimi.

The effects of single washing cycle with different washing media on the quality of tilapia mince in comparison with the quality of conventionally washed surimi from tilapia were investigated. From the results, it was observed that compared to conventional washed surimi, alkaline saline washed surimi with single washing cycle exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) highest gel strength of 60.72 N.mm. Thermal transition of alkaline saline washed surimi exhibited no endothermic transition, while all other treatments showed a shift in the transition peak from surimi to paste. The single washing cycle with different washing media promoted the heat induced conformational transition from α-helix to β -sheet, β -turn and random coil structures which are positively correlated with gel strength except for surimi washed with cold water. Therefore, it can be concluded from the present investigation that single washing with alkaline saline treatment yielded good quality tilapia surimi.