Rheological properties and structural changes in different sections of boiled abalone meat

Changes in tissue structures, rheological properties of cross- and vertical section boiled abalone meat were studied in relation to boiling time. The adductor muscle of abalone Haliotis discus which was removed from the shell, was boiled for 1, 2, and 3 h, respectively. Then it was cut up and separated into cross- and vertical section meat. When observed by a light microscope and a scanning electron microscope, structural changes in the myofibrils were greatest in the cross section meat compared with the vertical section meat. When boiling time was increased from 1 h to 3 h, the instantaneous modulus E 0 and rupture strength of both section meat decreased gradually with increased boiling time, and no significant differences were observed between these two section meat for the same boiling time. When boiled for 1 h, the relaxation time of cross section meat was much longer than that of vertical section meat. There were no significant changes in the relaxation time of vertical section for different boiling time, but the relaxation time of cross section meat was reduced gradually with increasing boiling time. These results confirmed that the difference in rheological properties between the cross- and vertical section meat was mainly due to the denaturation level of myofibrils when heated for 1 h, as well as due to the changes in the amount of denatured proteins, and the manner in which the inner denatured protein components weve exchanged after boiling time was increased from 1 h to 3 h.