TEXTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FROZEN BLUE SQUAT LOBSTER (CERVIMUNIDA JOHNI) TAILS AS MEASURED BY INSTRUMENTAL AND SENSORY METHODS

Instrumental and sensory textural characteristics of frozen blue squat lobster (Cervimunida johni) tails stored at -22C for 0, 15 and 60 days were evaluated. The influence of fishing area (north or south) was also studied. Instrumental texture was evaluated by shear and compression testing using a Warner-Bratzler blade for firmness and a flat plunger with two-cycle compression for texture profile analysis (TPA) testing. A trained panel was utilized to evaluate textural attributes using the score method. Results showed that fishing area and frozen storage did not affect the textural quality of blue squat lobster tails. However, a strong correlation (r > 0.9) between sensory and instrumental texture parameters was observed. Instrumental chewiness (r = 0.91), cohesiveness (r = 0.96) and sensory hardness (r > 0.84) obtained the strongest correlations. In this way, the use of instrumental analysis may be useful as an alternative to sensory analyses to evaluate the textural characteristics of blue squat lobster tails.