Influence of salt concentration on nutritional quality of solar tunnel dried silver jewfish (Pennahia argentata)

Abstract

Drying of fishery products in combination with salt treatment is practiced throughout the world to enhance drying rate and also extend product shelf life. Nutritional and eating quality of solar tunnel dried silver jewfish (Pennahia argentata) was determined which were treated with 0, 10, 15, 20 and 25% salt solution prior to drying. It was found that overall organoleptic qualities of all dried fish products were excellent. Reconstitution property was greatly influenced by salt treatment where lowest of 13.79 - 21.46% reconstitution was obtained for 25% salt treated solar dried fish at 80 °C indicating poor eating quality of the final product compared to those produced after 10% salt treatment. Proximate composition analysis, on the other hand, revealed that highest protein content of 68.16% on dry matter basis was obtained for 10% salt treated product with a relatively lower TVB-N value of 17.58 mgN/100g. These results suggest that for production of better quality dried silver jewfish products, treatment with 10% salt may be recommended for small-scale as well as commercial production.