Effects of pomegranate sauce on quality of marinated anchovy during refrigerated storage Nalan Gokoglu * , Osman Kadir Topuz, Pinar Yerlikaya Akdeniz University, Faculty of Agriculture, Food Engineering Department, Antalya, Turkey article info Article history: Received 10 January 2008 Received in revised form 9 April 2008 Accepted 10 April 2008 Keywords: Marinade Quality Pomegranate Storage Anchovy abstract Effects of pomegranate sauce on the quality of marinated anchovy during storage at 4  C were investigated. Anchovy were marinated with 30 g/L acetic acid and 150 g/L salt, put into glass jars, filled with either sunflower oil or pomegranate sauce and stored at 4  C. Total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and trimethylamine (TMA-N) values increased during the storage. Higher values for free fatty acid (FFA), conjugated diens (k-dien) and para-anisidine (p-Av) were found in samples with sunflower oil than those with pomegranate sauce. Samples in pomegranate sauce showed better oxidative stability. Higher taste and flavour and lower appearance scores were found for samples in pomegranate sauce than those samples in sunflower oil. It was found that pomegranate sauce was as least effective as the traditional sunflower oil to keep quality. Pomegranate sauce also produced desirable taste and flavour but the coloration should be studied in further studies. Ó 2008 Swiss Society of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The anchovy (Engraulis encrasicholus) is a pelagic species belonging to the Engraulidae family. In Turkey, it is commonly consumed fresh but marinated anchovies are also popular prod- ucts. The term ‘marinated fish’ is used to define semi-preserved fish processed by treatment with organic acids or vinegar and salt and put into brines, sauces or oil. The inhibitory effects of these substances on bacteria and enzymes increase with concentration but it is not advisable to increase the levels of vinegar and salt to suppress potential spoilage problems since they can cause uncon- sumable taste. Marinated fishes are typically consumed as ready- to-eat products with no heat treatment (Gram & Huss, 1996; Sallam, Ahmed, Elgazzar, & Eldaly, 2007) and have a limited shelf life (Fuselli, Casales, Fritz, & Yeannes, 1994; Gokoglu, Cengiz, & Yerlikaya, 2004). Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is one of the important fruits grown in Turkey, Iran, USA, Middle East, Mediterranean and Arabic countries. The edible part of the fruit contains considerable amount of acids, sugars, vitamins, polysaccharides, polyphenols and important minerals (Al-Maiman & Ahmad, 2002; Maskan, 2006; Vardin & Fenerciog ˘lu, 2003). Pomegranate also contains coloured grains which give a delicious juice. The pomegranate juice concentrate is commonly used for salads and many dishes in Turkey (Maskan, 2006). Pomegranate juice presents high anti-oxidative properties due to its polyphenolics, tannins and anthocyanins (Rosenblat, Hayek, & Aviram, 2006). Marinades are in general packed with oil or sauce. Various sauces according to consumers demand are used for marinades. In this study we aimed to use pomegranate sauce which is prepared using pomegranate juice concentrate in packaging of marinated anchovy. We investigated quality changes of anchovy marinade in pomegranate sauce during storage at 4  C and compared with anchovy marinade in sunflower oil which is most widely used. 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Raw material Anchovy (E. encrasicholus) was purchased from fisherman in the Gulf of Antalya in January 2007. The fishes were directly transferred to the laboratory in polystyrene boxes within an hour after purchase. The fishes were eviscerated, filleted and washed. The commercial pomegranate juice concentrate (PJC) (Ku ¨ krer Gıda, Eskis ¸ehir, Turkey) was purchased from a local market. 2.2. Marination process All the fish samples were immersed into a solution consisting of 30 g/L acetic acid and 150 g/L NaCl. The ratio of fish to solution was 1:1.5 (w:v). The immersing process was performed at ambient temperature (20  2  C). The maturation process was completed within 30 h, the marinated fish was removed from the solution and put into glass * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ90 242 310 24 58; fax: þ90 242 227 45 64. E-mail address: ngokoglu@akdeniz.edu.tr (N. Gokoglu). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect LWT - Food Science and Technology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lwt 0023-6438/$34.00 Ó 2008 Swiss Society of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.lwt.2008.04.007 LWT- Food Science and Technology 42 (2009) 113–118