Correlation between Water Characteristics and Gel Strength in the Gel Formation of Golden Pompano Surimi Induced by Dense Phase Carbon Dioxide

The relationship between the gel quality of golden pompano surimi treated with dense phase carbon dioxide (DPCD) and changes in water characteristics was evaluated. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging were used to monitor changes in the water status of surimi gel under different treatment conditions. Whiteness, water-holding capacity and gel strength were used as the quality indicators of the surimi gel. The results showed that DPCD treatment could significantly increase the whiteness of surimi and the strength of the gel, while the water-holding capacity decreased significantly. LF-NMR analysis showed that, as the DPCD treatment intensity increased, the relaxation component T(22) shifted to the right, T(23) shifted to the left, the proportion of A(22) decreased significantly (p < 0.05) and the proportion of A(23) increased significantly (p < 0.05). A correlation analysis of water characteristics and gel strength showed that the water-holding capacity of surimi induced by DPCD was strongly positively correlated with gel strength, while A(22) and T(23) were strongly negatively correlated with gel strength. This study provides helpful insights into the quality control of DPCD in surimi processing and also provides an approach for the quality evaluation and detection of surimi products.