Marination In Fish

Marination is a method that has long been used for both fish and meat as means to not only extend shelf-life but also to enhance or alter the sensory attributes of the product (Capaccioni et al., 2011). Marination is a process in which a marinade is prepared and the product then submerged in said marinade for a pre-determined time at a refrigerated temperature. A wide variety of items can be used for a marinade and the combination depends on what flavor should be achieved. For fish the most common items are a mixture of spices, sugar, acids, salts, oils and sometimes even phosphates (Poligne et al., 2000; Sallam, 2008; Szymczak, 2011). The role of each ingredient is different as are their mechanisms of activity. The shelf-life prolonging effects

The quality of the raw material is essential for the production of a quality product. Despite marinades being able to mask some detrimental sensory attributes they cannot completely hide them so upmost care must be taken during handling and storing of the raw material (Arason et al., 2014). While using fresh fish is preferred, the use of frozen fish is possible, but some problems related to using thawed material have been encountered. These include less retention of soluble ions, less water holding capacity, loss of color and weaker texture (Szymczak, 2011). Also of high importance is the quality of the ingredients used. The same rule applies for the ingredients as for the raw material, quality products cannot be produced from sub-par tools. The biggest problem has been the use of salt contaminated by metals which go on to induce oxidation of lipids. This is not only a problem for fatty fish but also for leaner species such as those of the gadoid family as they are very rich in PUFA’s (Arason et al.,

Vinegar has mostly been used according to the literature, the active acid being acetic acid (Capaccioni et al., 2011; Rodger et al., 1984). However other acids can also be and are often used, such as citric acid. Acids have the ability to dissociate and exert their effects on microbes. They are also used for their tenderizing attributes and their ability to lower the pH of marinates thus affecting not only microbes but also the activity of enzymes (Şengör et al.,