Optimisation of Calcium Alginate and Microbial Transglutaminase Systems to form a Porcine Myofibrillar Protein Gel

The aim of this study was to model and optimize the calcium alginate (CA) and microbial transglutaminase (TG) systems to form a cold-set myofibrillar protein (MP) gel containing 0.1 M or 0.3 M NaCl using a response surface methodology. The gel strengths of cold-set and heat-induced MP gels, and cooking yields were measured. All measured parameters showed determination coefficients (R2) above 0.7 without a lack-of-fit. The CA system had the best results with component ratios of 1.0:0.3:1.0 corresponding to sodium alginate, calcium carbonate and glucono-δ-lactone, respectively, and was favourable at 0.1 M NaCl. In contrast, the TG system only had an effect on cold-set MP gelation at 0.3 M salt, and the optimal ratio of TG to sodium caseinate was 0.6:0.5. By combining the two systems at 0.3 M NaCl, an acceptable cold-set MP gel with an improved texture and high cooking yield could be formed. Therefore, these results indicated that the functionality of the cold-set MP gel could be enhanced by combining these two optimized gelling system.