Effects of Substitution of KCl Combined with Inosine-5’ Monophosphate Disodium Salt for Sodium Salt on Gel Properties of Surimi

In order to develop low-salt surimi, this study investigated the effect of the substitution of KCl and inosine 5’-monophosphate disodium salt (IMP) for sodium salt on the gel properties of surimi from silver carp. Three experimental groups were set up, namely, group A, added with 2% NaCl; group B, added with 0.8% KCl and 1.2% NaCl; and group C, added with 0.7% KCl, 0.1% IMP and 1.2% NaCl. To find out the optimal scheme of NaCl replacement, the whiteness, water-holding capacity, gel strength, texture profile analysis (TPA) parameters, water distribution and composition, and microstructure of surimi gels were tested. The results showed that compared to group B, whiteness, water-holding capacity and gel strength in group A decreased, hardness, adhesiveness, chewiness and cohesiveness decreased significantly, while elasticity did not change obviously; the proportion of immobile water decreased and the proportion of free water increased; the spatial structure of the gel network formed was incomplete. For group C, despite a significant decrease in chewiness, none of the other indicators significantly deteriorated, which indicates that KCl combined with IMP is an ideal substitute for NaCl.