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Received: 29 May 2016
Received in revised form: 15 August 2016
Accepted: 5 September 2016
Keywords
Fish crackers
Proximate analysis
Linear expansion
Oil absorption
Bighead carp
Abstract
Fish crackers made from freshwater fishes is a new dimension in fish cracker industry. In this study, three species were chosen based on their general preference and acceptability by Malaysian. Together with other ingredients, these crackers were prepared using standard formulation and tested in laboratory for their proximate analysis and physical characteristic analysis includes linear expansion, oil absorption, color measurement and texture. Sensory analysis for overall acceptability was carried out among trained panelist in the school. The results for proximate composition and physical analysis showed that there were significant differences (p<0.05) between different species of fish crackers. There were also significant differences (p<0.05) between fish crackers of fried and un-fried crackers in terms of its proximate contents and physical appearance. It can be said that the high value of linear expansion increases the absorption of oil by crackers but decreasing their hardness properties. From the sensory evaluation results, the overall acceptability was the Bighead carp fish crackers.
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Introduction
Fish crackers is one of the popular snack foods in Southeast Asian countries include Malaysia. They are made of fish flesh together with starch flour, water and seasoning which then shaped into round, oblique, stick or longitudinal forms and gelatinized by boiling or steaming (Huda et al., 2009; Latip et al, 2013). The cool dough is sliced and dried for certain times before being fried to be eaten as fresh and puffed crackers. In Malaysia, there are many producers from the cottage industry especially in these three major states, Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang. There are more than 100 small scale producers along the streets in Terengganu that each of them producing different taste and look of the crackers. Other characteristics that differ among the fish cracker producers are an uneven expansion and shapes, different sizes and color. This is happen due to the different ratio of ingredients used by the producers. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the crackers suits the best characteristics of good quality crackers in terms of their sufficient expansion from puffing, crispiness, low moisture content and less oil...