Condensed Phosphate, Salt, and 

 Citrate Dips 



Panel evaluations for overall taste of sam- 

 ples dipped in a solution containing 10% so- 

 dium tripolyphosphate plus 2',r sodium chlor- 

 ide, or in a solution containing- 2^r sodium acid 

 pyrophosphate, or in a solution containing b'^'r 

 sodium chloride plus l^f sodium citrate before 

 freezing are given in Table II-4 for samples 

 held at 0° F or —20° F and in Table II-2 for 

 samples held on dry ice. Since it was antici- 

 pated that the use of these solutions would 

 affect texture of the stored samples, results of 

 the texture evaluations are presented in Table 

 II-5. 



These treatments produced mixed results. 

 The samples which had been treated with tri- 

 polyphosphate plus salt or salt plus citrate were 

 usually rated lower than untreated samples be- 

 cause of a pronounced salty taste. Samples 

 treated with sodium acid pyrophosphate alone 

 received slightly higher ratings for texture as 

 well as overall taste. However, all three of 



these chemical treatments resulted in lower 

 ratings compared with untreated frozen-stored 

 samples (Strasser et al., 1971). 



Employment of these chemicals was based 

 on current theory concerning their effect on 

 the functional properties of fish muscle proteins 

 (Dyer, 1969). On the basis of this theory, 

 it was assumed that these chemical treatments 

 would be effective by producing an ionic 

 strength in the order of 0.3 to 0.4 in the surface 

 layer of the crab meat samples. From the re- 

 sults actually obtained, it is suggested that this 

 assumption may be erroneous for blue crab 

 meat (and possibly for other invertebrate food 

 species) . Obviously, some direct evidence is 

 needed on the composition of crab muscle pro- 

 teins and their extractability from raw and 

 cooked crab meat. 



Sodium Nitrite Dips 



Panel evaluation of overall taste for samples 

 diiiiied in a 1% sodium nitrite solution before 

 freezing are given in Table II-6 for samples 



Table II-4. — Organoleptic evaluation of blue crab meat treated with phosphate, citrate, and salt before frozen 



storage: overall taste results.' 



6.0 



6.1 



6.7 



5,5 



6.6 



5.6 



5.9 

 6.7 



6.1 



5.9 



6.2 

 6.9 

 5.3 



6.1 

 7.1 



6.1 

 6.2 



^ Flake meat samples frozen by immersion in Freon 12. 



' The rating system is outlined in Figure 1-4. Based on 23 separate evaluation (295 individual ratings), the panel's 

 average rating for overall taste in fresh crab meat was 6.4 to 7.4. 



' Cral) meat dipped in a solution containing 10% sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP-NaCl) or in a solution containing 

 2% sodiimi acid pyrophosphate (SAPP) or in a solution containing 5% sodiimi chloride plus 1% sodium citrate 

 (NaCl-citrate) before freezing. 



* "Bag" refers to a polyetheylene bag without vacuinn while "V.P." refers to a three-ply laminate package heat- 

 sealed while under vacuum. 



° Samples obtained from crabs caught near the Virginia coast (high-salinity water). Other samples from crabs 

 caught in the Chesapeake Bay (low-salinity water). 



20 



