THE LIMIT OF RED SEAWEED (Eucheuma cottonii) SUBSTITUTION IN SNAKEHEAD FISH (Channa striata) NUGGETS BASED ON SENSORY EVALUATION

Snakehead fish (Channa striata), a freshwater fish, is known to have functional properties in helping the process of healing burns and wounds after surgery. Besides that, the use of seaweed as a source of food fiber is also widely reported. This research was conducted to design fiber-rich fish nuggets. The purpose of this study was to determine the maximum levels of seaweed substitution in the processing of snakehead fish nuggets based on sensory properties. Single-factor experiment (seaweed, Eucheuma cottonii, substitution) arranged in a Completely Randomized Design with four replications was applied in this study. The parameters observed were hedonic and hedonic quality sensory properties for the attributes of color, aroma, texture, and taste of nuggets. The data obtained were analyzed by the Friedman Test, followed by the Wilcoxon Rank Test to detect the differences between treatments. Treatment of up to 75% seaweed substitution (0, 25, 50, and 75%) decreases significantly (p 0.05) the hedonic sensory acceptance of the snakehead fish nuggets for all attributes except the texture which shows an increase. Whereas, the treatment with substitution of seaweed in the narrow percentage of 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% gave an expected result, which showed that there was no significant difference (p 0.05) of the hedonic sensory response for the overall acceptance. Nevertheless, 15% of seaweed substitution provides the best hedonic sensory response for overall acceptance. These results indicate that 15% of seaweed (Eucheuma cottonii) substitution is recommended for use in the processing of snakehead fish nuggets.