Abstract: In this study, we investigated the preparation of grass carp surimi with the addition of potato starch by ultrahigh pressure (UHP) processing. The effects of pressure level, holding time and potato starch addition on gel properties of grass carp surimi were examined for optimization of the three factors by response surface methodology. The results showed that gel properties of grass carp surimi were improved significantly by UHP treatment. The gel strength was highest at 300 MPa, and both whiteness and water-holding ability increased with increasing pressure. On the other hand, the changes in gel properties of grass carp surimi were not apparent after treatment for longer than 10 min at 300 MPa. With increasing addition of potato starch, the gel strength of surimi gels was improved significantly, and it reached the maximum at 8% potato starch content. Textural properties of sausages made from the surimi with more than 4% potato starch added were evidently improved. Using one-factor-at-a-time method and response surface methodology, the optimum conditions for the preparation of surimi were found to be addition of 8% potato starch and UHP treatment at 340 MPa for 12 min. Under these conditions, the gel strength was (421.07 ± 19.13) g·cm.

Key words: grass carp, surimi, ultra-high pressure (UHP), gel properties, response surface analysis