Habib Allah Hajidoun and Ali Jafarpour
The influence of different concentrations of chitosan (0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5%) on texture, color, Water Holding Capacity (WHC), viscosity and sensory properties of common carp surimi was investigated. Chitosan was added at 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% to the common carp surimi paste, stuffed in polyamide casing and heated in a hot water bath at 90 ± 2°C for 30 min. Chitosan treatments showed significant (p<0.05) effect on functional properties of resultant surimi gels as enhanced its viscosity, WHC, color, gel strength, TPA parameters and sensory characteristics. According to the results, there was an association between texture quality parameters and different concentrations of added chitosan. For instance, 1.5% chitosan treatment singnificantly (p<0.05) improved the viscosity, WHC, gel strength, hardness and whiteness of surimi gel by 35.4%, 19%, 50.6%, 40% and 11%, respectively, compa red to the control sample with no added chitosan. Ultimately, the best score (p<0.05) of sensory evaluation was allocated to the surimi gel with 1.5% chitosan by the panelists, all indicating the positive effect of added chitosan on functional properties of resultant surimi gel.