Through advanced chemical analysis and sensory evaluation, the study identified key volatile compounds responsible for both desirable cheesy and sweet notes as well as less favorable oily and fishy attributes. Unlike silver carp surimi, which often carries metallic and grassy off-flavors, sturgeon surimi gels were free from metallic tastes and showed greater flavor complexity.
Sturgeon aquaculture is expanding globally, with China producing 149 kilotons of sturgeon in 2023—a 14% increase over the previous year. While sturgeon roe remains highly valued for caviar, the meat, which makes up about 40% of the fish, is often underutilized in low-value products. Surimi production has traditionally relied on silver carp, but this species is prone to grassy, earthy, and metallic flavors, limiting its appeal for premium markets. Sturgeon, by contrast, has no intramuscular spines and contains longer muscle fibers, offering processing advantages and superior gel strength. Based on these challenges, researchers sought to investigate sturgeon’s potential as a flavorful and high-value alternative for surimi production.
A study (DOI: 10.48130/fia-0025-0016) published in Food Innovation and Advances on 25 April 2025 by Yuqing Tan’s team, China Agricultural University, suggests that sturgeon could serve as a premium raw material for surimi innovation, offering consumers richer and more appealing taste experiences.
To investigate flavor differences, researchers compared surimi gels from sturgeon yellow meat (YS) and white meat (WS) with traditional silver carp surimi (SS). A multi-modal workflow combined electronic nose (e-nose) profiling, principal component analysis (PCA), gas chromatography–ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS), and sensory testing. Free-choice profiling (FCP) and check-all-that-apply (CATA) generated flavor terms, while multivariate models (PLS-DA and PLSR) mapped volatile compounds (VCs) to sensory attributes. E-nose responses for nitrogen oxides (W5S) and sulfides (W1W) were highest in YS, and PCA (PC1 92.7%, PC2 7.2%) clearly separated YS from WS, pointing to these compounds as main discriminators. GC-IMS identified 30 VCs, most elevated in YS, including aldehydes (hexanal, octanal) from lipid oxidation and ketones such as 2-butanone and 4-methyl-2-pentanone, linked to buttery and cheesy notes. Importantly, 1-octen-3-ol, a metallic off-flavor common in carp, was absent in sturgeon surimi. Sensory tests met ISO 4120 significance (≥17/30 correct), with panelists more often distinguishing YS from WS/SS. Descriptor clustering and CATA confirmed eight flavor terms: oily/fatty, earthy, grassy, unpleasant fishy, meaty, cheesy/milky, sweet, and fresh. Undesirable notes (oily/fatty, unpleasant fishy, earthy) dominated YS, while WS emphasized sweet and cheesy/milky flavors, reflecting higher 3-methylbutanal levels. PLS-DA produced a robust model (R2X 0.746, R2Y 0.981, Q2 0.965), highlighting unpleasant fishy and oily/fatty notes as key differentiators. PLSR analysis linked these attributes to pentanal, 2-butanone, and 4-methyl-2-pentanone, while cheesy/milky and sweet flavors were tied to 3-methylbutanal and 3-pentanone. Together, the results demonstrate that YS’s higher unsaturated lipid content amplifies aldehydes and ketones, creating a more intense and complex—though less consistently preferred—flavor profile compared to WS or silver carp surimi.
The study highlights sturgeon surimi as a promising alternative to silver carp in the surimi market. With its unique lipid profile—rich in unsaturated fatty acids—sturgeon produces flavors ranging from savory cheesy and meaty notes to sweet undertones, while avoiding metallic off-flavors. These qualities could make sturgeon surimi particularly attractive for high-value products in both domestic and international markets. Importantly, its inherent lipid composition reduces the need for added oils or complex processing steps to enhance flavor, potentially lowering production costs. By repositioning sturgeon meat as a premium surimi raw material, the industry could better utilize this underexplored by-product of caviar production and diversify consumer choices.
###
References
DOI
10.48130/fia-0025-0016
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.48130/fia-0025-0016
Funding information
This work was supported by the Beijing Innovation Consortium of Agriculture Research System (No. BAIC07-2024-13), and Beijing Natural Science Foundation (No. 6222027).
About Food Innovation and Advances
Food is essential to life and relevant to human health. The rapidly increasing global population presents a major challenge to supply abundant, safe, and healthy food into the future. The open access journal Food Innovation and Advances (e-ISSN 2836-774X), published by Maximum Academic Press in association with China Agricultural University, Zhejiang University and Shenyang Agricultural University, publishes high-quality research results related to innovations and advances in food science and technology. The journal will strive to contribute to food sustainability in the present and future.