A comparative study of brine salting of Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua) and Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar)

• Published in: Journal of food engineering 2007-03, Vol.79 (1), p.261-270
• Main Authors: Gallart-Jornet, L., Barat, J.M., Rustad, T., Erikson, U., Escriche, I., Fito, P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atlantic cod; Atlantic salmon; Biological and medical sciences; Brine salting; brining; cod (fish); Diffusivity; Fat free basis; fish; Fish and seafood industries; Food engineering; Food industries; food preservation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gadus morhua; General aspects; kinetics; lipid content; Marine; mass flow; mass transfer; Mass transfer kinetics; Salmo salar; salmon; salt concentration; salted fish; salting; sodium chloride
• ISSN: 0260-8774; 1873-5770
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2006.01.053

Salting is one of the oldest preservation methods to increase the shelf life of fish. Some of the factors which affect the mass transfer behaviour are muscle type, fat content and fat distribution in the muscle. This work shows the differences in mass transfer kinetics for two fish species (cod and salmon) during salting with two brine concentrations (15% and 25% w/w). Results indicate that there are significant differences depending on the fish type. The different behaviour seems to be associated with the fat content which represents a barrier to transport of water and NaCl. When total net weight changes for salmon were expressed on a fat free basis, the kinetic parameters for salmon became quite similar to those obtained for cod. Considering the diffusivity of NaCl in the fish liquid phase, the higher diffusion coefficients were obtained when working with Atlantic salmon.