Effect of laver powder on textual, rheological properties and water distribution of squid (Dosidicus gigas) surimi gel.

In order to ameliorate the gel quality of Dosidicus gigas surimi, the effects of laver powder on gel properties, rheological properties, and water-holding capacity (WHC) were investigated. Results indicated that the addition of laver powder could significantly increase the hardness, chewiness, and breaking force of surimi gels. However, the texture indexes and gel strength began to decline when additional amount exceeded 0.6%. Rheological results demonstrated that the addition of laver powder increased the storage modulus (G') and viscosity of surimi, prolonged protein denaturation temperature in surimi gels. Moreover, the WHC of surimi gel was improved with the increase of laver powder. Further analyses in low-field nuclear magnetic resonance revealed that laver powder could shorten the transverse relaxation time, enhanced the combination with water, and altered the distribution of different water categories. The proportion of bound water and immobilized water reached its maximum and minimum at 0.6% of laver powder, respectively. Correlation analyses showed that WHC of surimi gel was negatively correlated well with the proportion of loose-bound water, but positively correlated with the strong-bound water and free water. In conclusion, the results supported that 0.6% was the optimal additional amount of laver powder for the squid-based surimi production based on the current ingredients of surimi products.