Brief Comment: Soft texture of Ika(calamari, squid) by The Seafood Advisor
SeafoodAdv
Copyright 2002 by Walter Rhee. All rights reserved.
Dan wrote:
> >So how does lactic acid build up? An example would be the more
> >creamy taste and texture of ika.
SeafoodAdv wrote:
>
> I do not recall if there is any relationship between lactic acid and the
creamy
> texture. Anyone else know?
>
> What do you mean by the creamy texture of ika? Do you mean raw ones found in
> ika sushi/sashimi or the (par)cooked ones as in "ika geso" or the cooked ones
> as in "ika tempura"?
Dan wrote:
>Yes, raw ika having a softer texture. I thought it was due to the break down
>of the flesh, like aging beef.
Now I get the drift. When you overwork your muscles, and your oxygen supply in
the muscles cannot match the demand, the muscles go into anaerobic state and
produces lactic acid. These acids are eventually routed into the liver to
produce glucose for energy source.
When animals die, oxygen does not reach the muscles. The muscles then go into
anaerobic state and lactic acid is produced. In this lactic acid, there are
enzymes that also break down the cells to "self-destruct" or autolyse. This is
how beef are tenderized (aka aged)-via autolysis.
In the case of raw ika, the autolysis does come into play for tender texture if
not processed right away. You have to set it out for few hours(dictacted again
by temperature), shorter than beef which takes days.
However nowadays, STP*(sodium tri-poly phosphate called "tri-poly" in the
industry) are also added to the pre-cut ika packages bound for sushi
restaurants. Just like soaked scallops, STP is added to retard spoilage and to
retain the added water in the process. This also makes the ika have the softer
texture.
*This is NOT the chemical used to clean automobile engines.
Walter Rhee, "The Seafood Advisor"
Dan Logcher
> Brief Comment: Soft texture of Ika(calamari, squid) by The Seafood Advisor
>
> Copyright 2002 by Walter Rhee. All rights reserved.
>
> Dan wrote:
>
> >Yes, raw ika having a softer texture. I thought it was due to the break down
> >of the flesh, like aging beef.
>
> Now I get the drift. When you overwork your muscles, and your oxygen supply in
> the muscles cannot match the demand, the muscles go into anaerobic state and
> produces lactic acid. These acids are eventually routed into the liver to
> produce glucose for energy source.
>
> When animals die, oxygen does not reach the muscles. The muscles then go into
> anaerobic state and lactic acid is produced. In this lactic acid, there are
> enzymes that also break down the cells to "self-destruct" or autolyse. This is
> how beef are tenderized (aka aged)-via autolysis.
I've heard tuna fishermen talk about getting the tunas in the shortest time to
avoid burning out the muscles and causing lactic acid build up that would ruin
the precious meat.
One of these days I'll go tuna fishing.
--
Dan