Research on Quality Changes of Crayfish Tail with Ice-coating during Frozen Storage

This study aimed to investigate the quality changes of ice-coating red swamp crayfish tails during long-term frozen storage. Ice-coated crayfish tails were considered as the research object, and attributes including sensory evaluation, texture profile analysis (TPA), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), protein carbonyl content, and active sulfhydryl content, were systematically monitored over six months of storage at −18 ℃. Correlation analysis was also conducted based on the research results. The results showed that during the 6-month frozen storage at −18 ℃, the indexes of the cooked crayfish tails with ice coating did not exceed the standard limits, but with the extension of the frozen storage time, the contents of TVB-N, TBARS and carbonyl groups in the tail of crayfish coated with ice increased significantly (P<0.05), and the content of active sulfhydryl groups increased first and then decreased, reaching the peak in the 3rd~4th months of storage, and the hardness and elasticity showed a fluctuating downward trend, and the hardness reached the highest value (3680.48 g) at the 3rd month, while the sensory score decreased significantly (P<0.05), and the quality of fresh products was still retained by 80% of the crayfish after 3 months of storage. Based on the changes of the above indicators, it was determined that the best tasting period of ice-coated crayfish tails was 3 months. According to the correlation analysis, protein degradation and fat oxidation might be the dominant factors contributed to the quality deterioration of ice-coated crayfish tails during frozen storage. This work provided theory basis for the promotion of industrial processed crayfish storage quality.