Development of Ready-to-Eat Smoked Product Fromtilapia

Tilapia (Oreochromismossambicus), an under-utilised low-value freshwater fish, was selected for the study to prepare a ready-to-eat product at the Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Hassan. The proximate composition, viz., moisture, protein, crude fat and total mineral content, of tilapia were 79.78, 14.23, 5.08 and 0.92%, respectively. The raw material, tilapia, was dressed and processed in the butterfly style before being dipped in saturated brine solution for different time durations (10, 20 and 30 min). The fish were smoked using saw dust for three different smoking time periods (30, 45 and 60 min). The yield of the smoked product was found to be 40.14%. The proximate composition, viz., moisture, crude protein, crude fat and mineral content, of the product that was salted for 20 min and smoked for 45 min was found to be 33.04, 44.64, 18.60 and 2.72%, respectively. The product prepared from the smoke curing process was evaluated for biochemical and organoleptic tests. It was found that as the duration of salting and smoking process increased, the moisture content decreased in the fish product, and the protein, fat and mineral content increased with increase in smoking and salting duration. The product that was salted for 20 min and smoked for 45 min scored highest for overall acceptability.