Characteristics of two-step heating gels from frozen surimi with a food additive containing TGase [Transglutaminase] or a bovine plasma powder

Two-step heating gels (kamaboko gels) were prepared from walleye pollack frozen surimis of SA and 2nd grades with a 0.3% food additive containing transglutaminase (TGase) or a 0.5% bovine plasma powder by heating at 90°C for 30 minutes after preheating at a fixed temperature between 10 and 80°C. The characteristics of the kamaboko gels were evaluated from the breaking strength, breaking strain, and spring constant as a function of the preheating time. A positive correlation was found between the breaking strength and the spring constant with a high correlation coefficient. The correlation was not affected by the grade of frozen surimi, temperature or duration of the preheating. A linear relation between the breaking strength and the spring constant of kamabako gels without the additive agreed well with that of the gels with a bovine plasma powder, but did not agree with the additive containing TGase. These results suggested that the kamaboko gels produced with a food additive containing TGase are more heterogeneous in quality compared to those of the other two products.