I would appreciate it very much if someone can direct me to the person
and/or article which describes the processes whereby locally caught
albacore--off the west coast of the Americas and Canada, can be improved
on in terms of texture,color and appearance. Local albacore is known to
have soft texture and flaky appearance with off white color. My intention
is to learn about a process from someone who can share that with me to
change the flavor, odor, texture, flakiness/chunkiness and color of
locally caught Albacore so that it closely compares to Albacore packed
from long liners.
We have performed experiments with extended precook times and higher back
bone temperatures such as 155 d F to eliminate the tuna oil and firm up
the texture: results were disappointing. Other experiments included air
cooling instead of spray cooling to improve texture, again
disappointment. Longer storage time in the freezer at minus 10 F also
resulted in no improvements. In fact it got worse because of dehydration
and oxidation. Other test packs included: High outgoing backbone
temperatures, air cooling the cooked Albacore, filling the Albacore in a
low tight pack in the can, minimal tuna cake agitation by not rolling the
cans, using low temperature and long time retort processes, exiting the
retort colder than normal, not handling the cooled cans until 12 hrs
later, and hand label and case. Results were minimal improvements
considering all the effort that went into processing this product. Can
you suggest other test programs?
Any suggestions will be very much appreciated.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Best regards, Jim Van Steenbergen