Effect of moisture content on the texture and color of instant crispy crucian carp

The method combined two stages of drying and baking was applied to develop instant crispy crucian carp. Effects of the moisture contents before baking from 70% to 45% and the final moisture content from 11%to 3% on quality changes of instant crispy crucian carp was investigated based on texture,color and sensory evaluation. Results exhibited that hardness,chewiness and W-B shear force of crispy crucian carp increased with the moisture content before baking decreasing,but there was no significant difference from 70% to 55%,then the hardness,chewiness and W-B shear force increased significantly(p<0.05). The L* value decreased,but a* and b* value increased with the moisture content before baking decreasing,and the a* and b* value increased significantly with the moisture content before baking decreasing from 60% to 55%(p<0.05). Hardness and W-B shear force increased,chewiness first increased and then decreased,springiness,cohesiveness and resilience decreased with the final moisture content decreasing. But there were not significantly different to each other between 3% to 5%(p>0.05). The L* value increased,a* and b* value decreased with the final moisture content decreasing,while the difference was not significant between 5% to 9%(p >0.05). Combined with sensory evaluation,crispy crucian carp with moisture content of 55% before baking,and 5% after the final drying was considered as the best quality.