Sweet potato starch addition together with partial substitution of tilapia flesh effectively improved the golden pompano (Trachinotus blochii) surimi quality

In order to improve the gel performance and edible quality of surimi for sustainable manufacture, the present study explored the feasibility of four kinds of starchs (potato, corn, sweet potato, and wheat) and fresh water fish tilapia as additives for golden pompano based surimi production. Sweet potato starch stood out as the most appropriate additive for golden pompano surimi due to the highest gel strength, lowest expressible moisture content and more compact microstructure. When the tilapia flesh substitution ratio reached 30%, best gel property of tilapia-golden pompano compound surimi with best texture property and whiteness value was achieved. Moreover, addition of 5% sweet potato starch to the golden pompano-tilapia (7:3) compound surimi comparatively obtained the optimal effect. Namely, it was observed that the texture parameters with hardness (3.62 N), gumminess (2.74 N), chewiness (17.35 mJ), cohesiveness (4.918), and springiness (0.872) being biggest values. On the other hand, the gel strength and expressible moisture content were 2,137.31 g. mm and 3.52%, respectively, which were overwhelming than other levels. Simultaneously, the whiteness of 5% addition group was 74.75, which was also a little higher than other groups. In summary, partial substitution of tilapia and proper addition of sweet potato starch effectively improved the gel performance and quality of golden pompano-based surimi products, which has potential applications in the industry of surimi.