Effects of Different Salting Process on the Storage Quality of Mediterranean Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis L. 1819)

Abstract

The effects of brine and dry salting on sensory and quality attributes of mussels stored at 4 ± 1C were investigated in this study. In brine salting method, the mussels were immersed in brine containing 26.4 g NaCl/100 mL water. In the dry salting method, the mussels were salted with a mixture of thin and thick granular salt by using the ratio of mussel to salt as 4:1 by weight. The salted mussels remained in the liquid pickle formed by salt and liquid extracted from the mussels. This solution was not drained during the storage period. Both brine-salted and dry-salted mussels were stored at 4 ± 1C. Initial dry matters were 13.94 and 20.75% in raw and boiled mussels, which increased to 32.84 and 39.67%, respectively at the end of the storage time after brine and dry salting. Salt content was 0.87% in raw mussels, and increased to 21.01% in brine-salted mussels and 25.26% in dry-salted mussels at the end of the storage period. The total volatile basic nitrogen was 11.83 mg/100 g in raw mussels, which decreased to 2.80 mg/100 g after boiling. The TVB-N content increased to 7.00 mg/100 g in brine-salted mussels and 10.50 mg/100 g in dry-salted mussels at the end of the storage time. Trimethylamine nitrogen values in raw and boiled mussels were 1.13 and 1.01 mg/100 g, respectively, and increased to 3.86 mg/100 g in brine-salted mussels and 4.10 mg/100 g in dry-salted mussels at the 120th day of the storage period. The salted mussel was a different taste for consumers. It was concluded that Mediterranean mussels can be consumed for a period of 4 months in refrigerated conditions. Salting is the oldest preservation method for foods. Salting may be dry or wet. The most commonly employed method is a hybrid of the dry and wet methods. The mussels are processed commonly as fried, canned or frozen. This study investigated the suitability of Mediterranean mussels for salting processing. Brine and dry salting processes can be successfully applied to the Mediterranean mussels. © 2007, Blackwell Publishing.