Effect of κ‐carrageenan on the physicochemical and structural characteristics of ready‐to‐eat Antarctic Krill surimi gel

Summary The impact of κ‐carrageenan on the physicochemical structural characteristics of ready‐to‐eat (RTE) Antarctic krill surimi gel (AKSG) was investigated. The modifications in chemical bonding, protein secondary structure, protein composition and microscopic morphology were compared in both gels with and without κ‐carrageenan. According to the findings, adding 4% (w/w) κ‐carrageenan could reduce the cooking loss of AKSG significantly ( P < 0.05), enhance the WHC and textural quality of AKSG and RTE AKSG and increase the amount of hydrophobic and disulfide bonds so that the secondary structure of Antarctic krill proteins could be shifted to the β‐sheet. However, there was little impact on the composition of the protein molecules according to the SDS‐PAGE. In addition, the usage of κ‐carrageenan significantly alleviated the disruption of the protein gel network caused by high‐temperature and high‐pressure treatments ( P < 0.05). Therefore, applying κ‐carrageenan could effectively enhance the gel quality of RTE AKSG.