Studies on textural and histological changes in cured fish muscle.

Textural changes in fish muscle [catfish (Tachysurus dussumieri) and Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta)] as a result of salt-curing [brining] were studied with respect to hardness, cohesiveness, elasticity, chewiness and histological changes. Hardness of muscle increased from an initial value of 1.34-9.65 kg/volt after drying. Elasticity increased from 0.00 to 4.5 mm after 2 h of salting. This resulted in an increase in chewiness values. Cohesiveness was only marginally affected by curing. Histological studies did not reveal any perceptible alteration in the muscle tissue at the given level of magnification, except for progressive widening of the interstitial space around the cells and endomysium, which might indicate greater cohesion of the muscle fibre.