Characterization of Green Lipped Mussel Meat. Part II: Changes in Physical Characteristics as a Result of Brining and Liquid Smoke Application

The effects of dry or wet brining, different liquid smoke (LS) dipping schedules, and different LS on the weight, water activity, view area, and texture attributes of mussels were compared. Dry brining resulted in significant weight loss (about 30%), whereas liquid brining (4% salt) increased the original weights. With LS dippings, wet brined mussels lost weight, while dry brined samples gained weight. For the same brining and dipping schedule, there was no significant difference between dipping in hickory or in maple LS (p > 0.05). The R-2 of linear, power, and quadratic polynomial fits to weight versus view area (calculated by image analysis) was 0.8, too low for practical applications. The change in individual mussel weight versus view area was different depending on the brining method. The weight versus view area of wet brined mussels increased and decreased during treatment steps, while dry brined mussels showed a regular decrease in weight versus view area. Texture, measured by texture profile analysis, and water activity also changed significantly upon dry brining (p < 0.05).