Efficiency of pre-drying handling practices in improving the quality attributes of artificially dried Bombay duck (Harpodon neherius)

摘要

Efficiency of pre-drying handling practices such as chilling, gutting and salting, were studied as a way of improving the quality attributes of artificially dried Bombay duck (Harpodon neherius). Freshly caught Bombay duck stored at 28 deg C for morethan 8 h was found unfit for human consumption. Accumulation of fatty acids, tri-methylamine and total volatile bases were reduced by chilling the fish to 0 deg C before processing, salting after gutting at 28 deg C before drying, or drying at 45 deg C without delay. Since the initial quality of the raw material has a direct bearing on the keeping quality of the final dried products, it was found that treating freshly caught Bombay duck with 20% brine solution for 16 h followed by artificially drying the fish in kilns at 45 deg C resulted in an improvement in the quality attributes of the final dried product compared to untreated fish.