No abstract

Marinating herring fillets in a 50 g/L powder of elderberry, cranberry, or black currant inhibited the oxidation of lipids and proteins and also the degradation of tocopherol. Cranberry and black currant appeared to be more efficient than elderberry in inhibiting the degradation of tocopherol and the formation of ammonium. Elderberry marinades provided the most significant color changes. The injection of fillets with a 5% salt solution resulted in significantly increased levels of carbonyls, ammonium, and biogenic amines, whereas formation of the volatile lipid compounds propanal, hexanal, 2-penten-1-ol, and 1-penten-3-ol was lowest in fillets marinated in black currant following injection of the salt solution. All marinade treatments resulted in a significantly decreased liquid holding ability, coinciding with a lower muscle pH. It is concluded that marinating herring fillets in solutions containing berry powder can enhance the quality and shelf life of the fillets and simultaneously provide the fillets with natural antioxidants beneficial for consumers.

The objective of this study was to produce lightly salted Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) fillets with improved technical and sensory attributes. Brine containing 0, 50, 150 or 250 g/L NaCl with or without additional 25 g/L sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 ) was injected into the fillets. 24 hours after injection, the muscle NaCl concentration ranged from 0.2 to 2.4%, and pH ranged from 6.18 to 6.48. Untreated fillets lost 1% weight, whereas the weight increase was 4% of the fillets injected with NaCl or a combination of NaCl and NaHCO 3 . Liquid loss (LL) during storage at 4°C for three days were similar for the untreated fillets and the fillets injected with 50 g/L NaCl (LL 12%), while LL was reduced to 7.5% with the addition of NaHCO 3 to the 50 g/L brine. LL was the lowest for the groups injected with 250 g/L NaCl. Injection of NaCl resulted in higher lipid oxidation compared with untreated fillets, determined as doubled levels of alkanals (4.3 vs. 10.4 ng/g) and pentenols (8.0 vs. 15.1 ng/g), but addition of NaHCO 3 counteracted the action of NaCl as a pro-oxidant. Furthermore, NaHCO 3 addition of the 50 g/L brine significantly improved the color of raw and cooked fillets (higher a*-value, Salmo Fan score, red/orange color tone). Sensory assessment of cooked fillet revealed that brine added NaHCO 3 gave superior odor (less rancid), flavor (less metallic) and higher scores for tenderness. In conclusion, addition of NaHCO 3 to the brine solutions improved liquid retention, storage stability, color, odor and flavor of lightly salted salmon fillets.