Effect Of Smoking Time On Keeping Quality Of Smoked Mackerel (<i>Scomboromorus scombrus</i>)

Abstract

Experiments were carried out to study the effects of smoking time on keeping quality of smoked mackerel (Scomboromorus scombrus). Frozen fish was thawed, eviscerated, cleaned, brined and smoked at 75 – 80oC for 2, 2½, 3 and 3½ hours and stored in the smoking kiln for 20 days. Proximate composition, phenol content, rancidity test and microbiological evaluation were carried out using the smoked samples on the 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th, 16th and 20th day of storage. Increased steam volatile phenol and non-volatile phenol deposition that ranged from .001 to .026mg/100gm and from .48 to 1.35mg/100gm respectively was observed with increased smoking time and decreased with storage days. Thiobarbituric acid value and peroxide values increased from 4.29 to 13.66 and 8.7 to 30.0mili equiv respectively with storage days and increased with smoking time while moisture content and water activity decreased from 51.0% to 12.3% and .960 to .650aw respectively with storage days and as well as smoking time.

Key words: Smoking, Time, keeping quality, mackerel

Nigerian Food Journal Vol.22 2004: 112-118