Effects of Blanching and Drying Condition on the Quality of Small Shrimp (Acetes)

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the influence of various parameters of the blanching and drying condition of small shrimp (Acetes) on some product quality parameters. Some criteria were assessed, such as salt content, astaxanthin content (ATC), and color of small shrimp. The results showed that the blanching time significantly affected the salt content. When increasing the blanching time, the salt content was found to increase from 17.35 ± 2.48 mg/g DW to 39.51 ± 0.45 mg/g DW. The astaxanthin content achieved the highest value (0.026 ± 0.001 mg/g DW) in a 2% salt solution. The study showed that the blanching and drying processes significantly affected the salt content, astaxanthin, and color of the small shrimp, and the optimized temperatures for blanching and drying were 70°C and 60°C, respectively.