Hydrophilic colloids (Konjac gum/Xanthan gum) in 3D printing of transitional food from fish paste

Hydrocolloids are often used as thickeners to create texture-modified diets for people with dysphagia. The effect of different konjac gum (KGM)/xanthan gum (XG) ratios (12/0, 5/1, 3/1, 1/1, 1/3, 1/5, 0/12, w/w) on rheological properties, 3D printability, textural properties, microstructure, and the proteoglycan interactions of cooked sturgeon pastes were investigated. The sturgeon pastes with different KGM/XG ratios demonstrated shear-thinning behavior and excellent viscoelasticity which made it good feedstock for 3D printing. The texture properties of the sturgeon paste with different KGM/XG ratios were all significantly improved (p < 0.05) comparing to the control, and satisfied the potential transitional foods in the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) framework. The hardness (660.62 g) and water holding capacity (98.12%) maximized at the KGM/XG ratio of 1/1. The addition of KGM/XG mainly promotes cross-linking between protein to strength the network structure through hydrogen bonding.