The synergistic effects of myofibrillar protein enrichment and homogenization on the quality of cod protein gel

In this paper, the synergistic effect of myofibrillar protein enrichment and homogenization on the quality of cod protein gel (CP-gel) was investigated. CP-gel properties were characterized through measuring the gel strength, rheological properties, water retention and the protein network structure. The results showed that myofibrillar protein was enriched after washing the steamed cod for more than three times. With the synergistic effects of homogenization and myofibrillar protein enrichment, CP-gel with 1:3 of solid: water ratio was produced, which had similar texture properties with the regular CP-gel (with 1:1 of solid: water ratio), and had better gel strength, storage modulus, and water holding capacity than the control (i.e., with no enrichment/homogenization treatments). Clearly, the combined protein enrichment and homogenization treatments pointed to a new CP-gel production method which would significantly increase the production yield and reduce the production costs without negatively impact the product quality. In addition, the CP-gel with thixotropy and shear-thinning behavior was suitable for extrusion-based 3-D printing, which could be utilized to develop custom-made designer specialty food with further enhanced nutritional and flavor/textual properties.