Gelling of hake (Merluccius australis) sawdust

Fish 'sawdust' is powdered muscle produced by sawing blocks of frozen fish. It is an underutilized material with very poor functional properties, and is difficult to use in reconstituted products without the addition of ingredients to enhance these properties. in order to enhance the gel-forming capacity of sawdust from hake muscle (Merluccius australis), different ingredients were added: (1) a formula (designated ACC formula) composed of starch, L-carrageenan and dried egg white (at a proportion of 5, 5 and 3% respectively of the dough), (2) surimi from the same species as sawdust, and (3) sodium ascorbate (100-1500 ppm). The results suggest that fish sawdust with either ACC formula or a high proportion of surimi could be used to produce gels (folding test score 5) highly suitable for restructuring fish products, with good water holding ability (more than 93%) but poor gel strength (13 N . mm). If the proportion of surimi exceeded 75% (with respect to total muscle) and the formula contained sodium ascorbate (750 ppm), gel strength was much greater (more than 40 N . mm).