Effect of glycerol on gelation and microrheological properties of giant squid surimi ( Dosidicus gigas ) under heat treatment

This study investigated the effect of different contents of glycerol on the gel properties and microstructure of giant squid surimi. The addition of glycerol improved the water holding capacity (WHC), texture properties of surimi gel, and enhanced the surimi gel strength. With the addition of 20% glycerol, the WHC and gel strength of the surimi gel increased by 15.71% and 96.01% compared to the control group, respectively. Glycerol may promote protein disentanglement, facilitating myosin molecular interactions and thereby enhancing the storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) of surimi gel. The presence of glycerol increased the β-sheet and decreased the α-helix and random coil of surimi. Furthermore, glycerol impacted the thermal stability and microstructure of the surimi gel, resulting in a denser gel network structure. The enthalpy of denaturation (ΔH) of surimi was decreased by 65.52% compared with control after adding 15% glycerol. This study provided a new perspective and method for the processing and quality improvement of giant squid surimi products as well as guidance for the innovation of surimi gelation technology and development of gel products.