Kentucky State University
Water Phase Salt Content of Smoked Paddlefish Meat was Affected by the Rotating Speed of the Tumbler Used for Brining
Institution
Kentucky State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Changzheng Wang; Cecil Butler; Lingyu Huang; Steven Mims
Abstract
According to the regulations of the Food and Drug Administration, smoked fish need to contain a minimum of 3.5% water phase salt to ensure the water activity of the product is low enough to inhibit the growth of C. botulinum. The objective was to determine the effects of rotating speed of the tumbler used for brining on the water activity and water phase salt content of smoked whole paddlefish. Three paddlefish each were brined for 1 hr in a 15% salt solution in a vacuum tumbler that was rotating at 1, 5 or 10 rotations per minute. At the end of the brining, fish were rinsed in tap water and left to dry at 4O C overnight. They were hot smoked until the internal temperature reached 145OC for 30 min. After cooling down in a refrigerator, the smoked fish were vacuum-packed and stored at -20C before analysis. The smoked meat was homogenized in a grinder. Two gram samples were soaked in distilled water for two hrs. The supernatant was used for salt analysis by a salt analyzer. The water activity of fish brined with higher rotating speed was lower and the water phase salt content was higher than fish brined with rotating speed at 1 rotation per min. The fish texture was not adversely affected by rotating speed up to 10 rotations per minutes. These results indicate that whole paddlefish could be brined in vacuum tumbler rotating at up to 10 rotations per minute. Rotation of the tumbler helped the meat to absorb brine solution to assure adequate salt content in the smoked paddlefish products.
Water Phase Salt Content of Smoked Paddlefish Meat was Affected by the Rotating Speed of the Tumbler Used for Brining
According to the regulations of the Food and Drug Administration, smoked fish need to contain a minimum of 3.5% water phase salt to ensure the water activity of the product is low enough to inhibit the growth of C. botulinum. The objective was to determine the effects of rotating speed of the tumbler used for brining on the water activity and water phase salt content of smoked whole paddlefish. Three paddlefish each were brined for 1 hr in a 15% salt solution in a vacuum tumbler that was rotating at 1, 5 or 10 rotations per minute. At the end of the brining, fish were rinsed in tap water and left to dry at 4O C overnight. They were hot smoked until the internal temperature reached 145OC for 30 min. After cooling down in a refrigerator, the smoked fish were vacuum-packed and stored at -20C before analysis. The smoked meat was homogenized in a grinder. Two gram samples were soaked in distilled water for two hrs. The supernatant was used for salt analysis by a salt analyzer. The water activity of fish brined with higher rotating speed was lower and the water phase salt content was higher than fish brined with rotating speed at 1 rotation per min. The fish texture was not adversely affected by rotating speed up to 10 rotations per minutes. These results indicate that whole paddlefish could be brined in vacuum tumbler rotating at up to 10 rotations per minute. Rotation of the tumbler helped the meat to absorb brine solution to assure adequate salt content in the smoked paddlefish products.