High pressure technology as a tool to obtain high quality carpaccio and carpaccio-like products from fish

This work evaluates the physicochemical and sensorial qualities of salmon, tuna and desalted “bacalao”, thinly sliced as carpaccios, and subjected to 15-min of continuous pressure and pulsed pressure in three 5-min steps (200–300 MPa at 7 °C). Pressurization of salmon and tuna gave rise to an increase in the shear strength of carpaccios, a reduction of the water and lipid binding properties and an increase in the total colour difference. Though these changes were also detected by the sensory panel, the resulting pressurized products obtained high scores for acceptability. Desalted “bacalao” carpaccio was more stable under high pressure and sensory analysis revealed that in most treatments the raw attributes had been retained. The results obtained by applying pressure in one or three consecutive cycles were, in general, the same. High-pressure treatment was shown to be an adequate tool for obtaining high-quality desalted “bacalao” carpaccio, whereas salmon and tuna suffered a loss of raw attributes. However the resulting products acquired new sensory features which were highly accepted by the sensory panel.Industrial relevanceNowadays, there is a growing interest in consuming raw or minimally processed foods and among fishery products, carpaccio are becoming increasingly popular. The present work deals with the effect of high pressure on the physico-chemical and sensory attributes of carpaccios made from salmon, tuna, and desalted “bacalao”. High pressure may be an adequate tool to obtain high quality carpaccio or carpaccio-like products, as the products acquired new sensory features which were highly accepted by the sensory panel. From the industry viewpoint the application of high pressure to fish carpaccios may be appealing in a two way: firstly, the resulting carpaccio are presumably free of parasites and present a better microbiological quality, thereby increasing the shelf-life. Secondly, products may acquire new sensory attributes that can be very appreciated by consumers.