Developing an Effective Method to Determine the Heat Transfer Model in Fish Myofibrillar Protein Paste with Computer Simulation Considering the Phase Transition on Various Dimensions

Abstract

Abstract Numerical simulation was performed to evaluate thermal patterns of Alaska pollock (AP) surimi paste depending on the dimension and the phase transition of sol to gel during conventional water bath cooking. AP surimi paste (76 and 80 % moisture) was molded into 2, 3.5, and 5 cm cubes and heated at 90 °C. Three simulation models were developed: using average thermal properties in the cooking temperature range from 20 to 90 °C (model A); the thermal properties at the average temperature of each dimension (model B); and the thermal properties including the phase transition region of each dimension (model C). Model A showed a relatively large deviation between the simulation and experiment. Model B reflected the effect of dimension on gelation and showed better fitness (maximum RMSE=5.01 °C). The highest fitness (maximum RMSE=1.67 °C) was observed with model C reflecting both dimension difference and a phase transition.