Teng Zongna, He Xiaoyue, Wang Liuqing, Xu Limin, Jiao Chuyi, Chen Jiwang
College of Food Science and Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan 430023, China.
Hubei He Yuan Gas Co., Ltd., Yichang 443000, China.
Foods. 2025 Jan 16;14(2):279. doi: 10.3390/foods14020279.
The quality of frozen crayfish () is challenged by freeze-thaw (FT) cycles during storage. The effect of freezing methods on the quality of crayfish during FT cycles was investigated by comparing physicochemical properties, microstructure, and myofibrillar protein (MPs) properties. Three methods were used for crayfish freezing, including air convective freezing (AF) at -20 °C and -50 °C, as well as liquid nitrogen freezing (LNF) at -80 °C. The frozen crayfish were thawed at 4 °C after 45 d of frozen storage as 1 FT cycle. After 5 FT cycles, the water holding capacity of LNF crayfish (70.8%) was significantly ( < 0.05) higher than that of -20 °C AF crayfish (60.6%) and -50 °C AF crayfish (63.5%). The drip loss of LNF crayfish (7.83%) was significantly lower than that of AF crayfish. Moreover, LNF maintained the gel strength and the thermal stability of MPs from crayfish with higher gel storage modulus and enthalpy. These results demonstrated that LNF minimized the formation of large ice crystals, preserving the structural integrity of muscle and the properties of MPs, thereby maintaining crayfish quality. This study investigated the effect of LNF in preserving crayfish quality during FT cycles, providing valuable insights for reducing the quality degradation of aquatic products during storage and transportation.
冷冻小龙虾（）的品质在储存期间会受到冻融（FT）循环的挑战。通过比较理化性质、微观结构和肌原纤维蛋白（MPs）特性，研究了冷冻方法对FT循环期间小龙虾品质的影响。使用三种方法对小龙虾进行冷冻，包括在-20℃和-50℃下的空气对流冷冻（AF），以及在-80℃下的液氮冷冻（LNF）。冷冻储存45天后，将冷冻小龙虾在4℃解冻作为1个FT循环。经过5个FT循环后，LNF小龙虾的持水能力（70.8%）显著（<0.05）高于-20℃AF小龙虾（60.6%）和-50℃AF小龙虾（63.5%）。LNF小龙虾的滴水损失（7.83%）显著低于AF小龙虾。此外，LNF保持了小龙虾MPs的凝胶强度和热稳定性，具有更高的凝胶储能模量和焓。这些结果表明，LNF最大限度地减少了大冰晶的形成，保持了肌肉的结构完整性和MPs的特性，从而维持了小龙虾的品质。本研究调查了LNF在FT循环期间对保持小龙虾品质的影响，为减少水产品在储存和运输过程中的品质下降提供了有价值的见解。
