Impact of salted duck egg albumen powder on proteolysis and gelling properties of sardine surimi

The influences of salted duck egg albumen powder (SDEAP) as salt replacer at various levels (0.5-2.5%) on autolysis and gelling properties of sardine surimi were investigated. SDEAP had high salt (33.67%) and protein contents (64.52%) with trypsin inhibitory activity of 5,975 kunits/g solid. SDEAP was white in color with L*-value of 96.72. It had low moisture content (3.98%) and water activity (0.38). Autolysis of sardine surimi was drastically inhibited when SDEAP was incorporated with increasing levels as indicated by the more retained myosin heavy chain and the reduced trichloroacetic acid-soluble peptide content. Breaking force and deformation of surimi gel increased, while expressible moisture content decreased as the levels of SDEAP added were increased (p < .05). Gumminess, hardness, chewiness, springiness, and cohesiveness of surimi gels also increased as SDEAP levels increased (p < .05). Lightness and whiteness were higher in all surimi gels incorporated with SDEAP than the control (p < .05). For microstructure, surimi gels incorporated with SDEAP at all levels used had finer gel network with smaller voids and more connectivity than the control gel. Thus, SDEAP could be used as a salt replacer for sardine surimi gel preparation and it could improve the properties of resulting gel.