Mechanistic insights into combined effects of continuous microwave heating and tremella powder addition on physiochemical properties of Nemipterus virgatus surimi gel

The physicochemical properties of Nemipterus virgatus surimi gel were investigated, with tremella powder (TP) at concentrations ranging from 0 to 0.5% ( w /w) combined with continuous microwave heating (CMH) using water-bath heating (WBH) as control. Results showed that TP addition (0.1%–0.3%, w/w) could significantly enhance the water holding capacity and reduce whiteness and cooking loss, attributed to the changed lateral relaxation time of water distribution. Notably, at 0.3% TP and 80 °C, the gel strength significantly increased by 96.84%, and the hardness, chewiness, and adhesiveness improved, but the quality of surimi decreased above 0.3% TP. The gel network structure was influenced by protein secondary structure composition, especially for increasing β-sheet in Raman spectra, thus promoting the gel microstructure density and uniform protein distribution. These findings offer insights for enhancing surimi gel quality and broadening tremella application in product processing. • Addition of TP under CMH was first applied to improve the properties of surimi gel. • The gel strength was increased by 96.84% after adding 0.3% TP. • The microstructure of surimi gel was improved by swelling the TP macromolecules. • TP combined with CMH significantly improved the water retention capacity of surimi. • The structure of surimi gel was more regular by promoted the proteins unfolding.