Optimization of processing conditions of traditional cured tuna Loins–Muxama

• Autor(a) principal: Esteves, Eduardo
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Aníbal, J.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/10308
• topic: Muxama; Salted-dried tuna loins; Physicochemical parameters; Statistical modelling; Dieta mediterrânica

Muxama is a traditional highly-valued food product prepared from dry-cured tuna loins in southern Portugal and Spain. The production procedure has seen little change over the last centuries. The muxama’s stability is due to reduced water activity. In addition, the drying method has secondary effects on characteristics of flavor, color, and the nutritional value of the product. Our objectives were to describe the dynamics of important physicochemical parameters such as moisture content, water activity (aW), NaCl concentration (as water–phase salt, ZNaCl), pH and color, during the salting and drying stages of muxama production, and to test the effect(s) of changes in the traditional processing conditions followed in southern Portugal, aiming at optimizing the production procedure. The lowest values of moisture and aW and highest ZNaCl obtained after drying tuna loins for seven days at 20 °C exceeded the values reported for commercial products and have impact on the appearance (color) of the product. Therefore, drying tuna loins at lower temperatures (ca. 14 °C) is probably more appropriate. The results obtained in this study could be used in the design of future experiments at other conditions and to assess other quality parameters, e.g., total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBA-RS), microorganism abundance and sensory attributes, and subsequent validation trials.