Scientific and Technological Aspects of Fish Product Development. Part I: Handshaking Instrumental Texture with Consumer Preference in Burgers

Abstract

Traditional fish burgers are made mostly with added starch but fail to meet consumer expectations of eating quality characteristics. Improved formulations, however, can offer a new marketing position in the area of processed fish products. Promising functional ingredients that can improve organoleptic properties include milk protein, citrus pectin, and bovine gelatin. The large deformation properties of these burgers were identified using compression testing and specific attributes were related to the overall acceptability of the product on the basis of a hedonic scaling method. The quality of the burgers was further manipulated by introducing additional ingredients to the formulation, e.g., soya protein, κ-carrageenan, frozen vegetables, and dried fruits. Distinctive upper and lower bounds of the values of hardness, firmness, adhesiveness, and the ratio of inflectional to maximum stress were defined in relation to optimum sensory acceptability of the product.

Keywords:

• Fish burgers
• Compression testing
• Sensory evaluation
• Hydrocolloids

Acknowledgments

Financial support of S.Q.U. grant SR/AGR/FOOD/02/01 is gratefully acknowledged. The authors thank Oman Fisheries Co. for supplies of fish and burger ingredients.