Research progress on improvement of gel properties of surimi products

The so-called products are muscle proteins concentrates obtained through the process of meat separation,rinsing,dehydration,and refined filtration.Usually referred to as frozen surimi,it is the food cryopreserved after mixting of fresh surimi containing fish myofibrillar proteins and additives(or cryoprotectant) which can prevent the protein from frozen and denaturation.The properties of the gel in surimi products,such as stiffness,elasticity and adhesiveness are mainly determined by the characteristics of myofibrillar proteins and by the status of the gelation status.Therefore,the gel process is the key workflow in surimi production.In this review,a brief analysis of the factors impacting the characteristics of surimi gel is presented,and the optimized technics methods are also discussed.The review also summarizes the case studies regarding the use of polysaccharides and non-muscle protein as the gel-enhancing agent.The aim of the paper is to provide surimi product-based industries with the theoretical basis and technical support for improving the gel properties of surimi products.