BEHAVIOR OF MYOFIBRILLAR PROTEINS AND COLLAGEN IN HAKE (MERLUCCIUS-MERLUCCIUS L) MUSCLE DURING FROZEN STORAGE AND ITS EFFECT ON TEXTURE

It is difficult to explain fully the changes in the texture of frozen fish muscle solely in terms of the aggregation of myofibrillar protein. Therefore this paper attempts to relate to such textural changes in frozen hake muscle and to the modification that collagen undergoes during frozen storage. A relationship is also sought between formaldehyde production in the muscle and the aggregation of myofibrillar protein and stroma. A correlation is found to exist between collagen aggregation and augmented hardness in the connective tissue of the raw muscle, but not in that of the cooked muscle. A function is proposed that relates the shear strength of the raw muscle to the aggregation of myofibrillar proteins and collagen. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.