Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(2): 849-859 849 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2018.702.107 Textural and Sensory Characteristics of Eel Steaks Processed during Thermal Processing in Brine Medium to Optimize F 0 Value Rohini Mugale * , S.B. Patange, V.R. Joshi, G.N. Kulkarni and M.M. Shirdhankar Department of Fish Processing Technology and Microbiology, College of Fisheries, Dr. B. S. Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Ratnagiri – 415629 Maharashtra, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Thermal processing is a method of preserving food by heating in a hermetically sealed containers to eliminate / destroy the microorganism at a given time and temperature (Balachandran, 2001 and Bindu et al., 2014). Traditionally processed ready-to- eat foods packed in tin and aluminium cans have their own disadvantages like higher price of container, development of metallic flavour and discolouration in the product (Vijayan and Balachandran, 1986).With the advent of flexible retort pouch in place of metal cans, the technology of thermal processing has become cost effective as the packaging cost of retort pouch is far lesser than the cost of metal cans. The integral seal maintains an environment in the rigid/flexible container that prevents the growth of other microbes of higher resistance and most importantly it prevents recontaminations from external contaminants and pathogens from producing toxins during storage (Awuah et al., 2007). Xavier et al., (2007) reported the heat penetration characteristics of skipjack tuna in brine packed in TFS and EOE cans. The changes during thermal processing of mackerel in brine medium were reported by Sreenath et al., (2009) and Xavier et al., International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 02 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Eel (Mastacembelus armatus) steaks in brine processed in four-layered laminated retort pouch was processed in a steam/air mixture overpressure retort at 121 o C. The curry and eel steaks were packed in 60:40 proportion. Time-temperature data from sealed samples was collected during heat processing using a ‘Nano Vacq 1 Tc’ data logger to record the data during processing. The product was processed for 2, 3 and 4 min at 121 o C at the process value of 6.08, 13.89 and 5.03 min respectively. Further, product was analyzed for textural attributes like cohesiveness, toughness, succulence and fibrosity and sensory analysis. These textural attributes decreased as the F 0 value increased. Based on these analyses, it was observed that, the product processed for 3 min (F 0 value of 13.89 min) with total process time of 50 min and cook value 99.61 min gave better textural and sensory characteristics and the product was found satisfactory for the development of eel steaks in brine in retort pouches. Keywords Eel fish, Brine medium, Retort pouch, Heat penetration study, Texture profile analysis, Sensory analysis Accepted: 10 January 2018 Available Online: 10 February 2018 Article Info