Effects of type and concentration of salts on physicochemical properties in fish mince

Cooked minces made from both fresh and frozen haddock with NaCl, KCl, or MgCl2 at concentrations from 0.07 to 0.34 mol/kg fish mince were prepared and analysed for physicochemical properties. The properties of the minces varied both with the type and amount of added salt. Minces added the same molar amount of NaCl or KCl had fairly similar properties, but pH in minces made with KCl was slightly higher. Minces made with MgCl2 had lower pH than the corresponding minces made with NaCl. Minces made from fresh raw material with 0.07 mol/kg MgCl2 had significantly lower WHC than the rest of the minces, while minces made with 0.34 mol MgCl2/kg had lower moisture and breaking force than the corresponding minces with KCl or NaCl. Low field NMR T2 relaxation data indicated differences in the protein structure as an effect of addition of small amounts of salt. Cooking loss decreased with increasing salt content both when fresh and frozen raw materials were employed, and the results indicate that this could be due to the increased ionic strength. WHC for minces made with NaCl decreased significantly, whereas WHC did not change much for minces made with KCl or MgCl2.