Chmical and sensory propertics of fish sauce using dried rainbow sardine (Dussumieria acuta)

Fish sauce is a dark liquid which produced from fish fermentation in a very high salt condition. This product has a long history and is produce in different procedures and names throughout the world. In Iran, production of fish sauce consists of two steps. At first, fermented extract or Suru is produced from fresh or dried sardine and Suru is cured with addition of spices. This study was conducted for the first time in Iran for industrial production of fish sauce from dried Sardine. For this study, fresh sardine was provided from Bandar- Abbas fishery center. The fish were sun dried and used for fish sauce production. The effects of mechanical dicing, adding of salt in two levels (100 and 80 percent) and addition of citric acid at 2% were investigated. Sampling was achieved with separation of aqueous phase by vacuum and filter paper. Then, acidity, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, trimethylamine and salt concentration were measured in the extracted liquid. Results showed that acidity, electrical conductivity and total nitrogen increased, however the salt content remained constant and the trimethylamine content was decreased during fermentation period. Increase in total nitrogen indicated an increase in protein hydrolysis and nutritional value of the product. Whereas, reduction in trimethylamine content showed a decrease in the number of spoilage bacteria during fermentation. The highest score in sensory evaluation of the products belonged to the low salt (80%) treatment.