Assessing the textural properties of Pacific whiting and Alaska pollock surimi gels prepared with carrot under various heating rates

The effect of heating rates (3, 60 and 160 °C/min) on textural and physical properties of Pacific whiting (PW) and Alaska pollock (AP) surimi gels mixed with diced carrot (0%, 3%, 6%, and 9%) were investigated. Surimi-carrot mixed pastes were heated ohmically from 5 to 90 °C under three different heating rates and chilled immediately in ice/water. As heating rate increased, the hardness and cohesiveness value of PW surimi gels increased and those of AP surimi gels decreased. The hardness and cohesiveness value of PW and AP surimi gels prepared with diced carrot significantly decreased as the carrot content increased at all heating rates (P < 0.05). The shear force value of carrot heated at 160 °C/min showed the highest value in both species. The moisture loss (%) of surimi and carrots heated at 160 °C/min was significantly lower than other samples heated slowly. Scanning electron microscope revealed that the heating rate significantly influenced the microstructure of surimi gel and carrot in both species.