Production optimization of flying fish roe analogs using calcium alginate hydrogel beads

Abstract Due to decreased supplies of marine resources and byproducts, new processing technologies for the development of analogs for natural fishery products are becoming increasingly important in the fishing industry. In the present study, we investigated the optimal processing conditions for flying fish roe analogs based on alginate hydrogels. Optimized processing of these analogs was performed by response surface methodology. The optimal processing conditions for the flying fish roe analogs (based on sphericity) were at a sodium alginate concentration of 2.41 %, calcium chloride solution curing time of 40.65 min, calcium chloride concentration of 1.51 %, and a reactor stir speed of 254×g. When the experiment was performed under these optimized conditions, the size (mm), sphericity (%), and rupture strength (kPa) of the analogs were 2.2 ± 0.12, 98.2 ± 0.2, and 762 ± 24.68, respectively, indicating physical properties similar to their natural counterparts