Exploring the Versatility of Carbohydrates in Surimi and Surimi Products: Novel Applications and Future Perspectives.

Carbohydrate is one kind of the most important additives in the production of surimi and surimi products, mainly due to its wide range of sources and superior functionality. In recent years, new carbohydrate (oligosaccharides and polysaccharides) has been gradually applied in the production of surimi and surimi products which is mainly driven by consumer's requirement on nutritional and the flavors or taste quality and producer's requirement on extending the shelf life, like low calorie intake, dietary fiber enrichment, rich taste and improvement of antioxidant properties. Besides anti-freezing and improvement on gelling ability, novel functionalities have been explored such as fat substitution, improving flavor, anti-bacterial effect, anti-oxidant effect, and improving 3D (three dimensional) printability. With the in-depth study of the mechanism of carbohydrate improving the qualities of surimi and surimi products, the application of carbohydrates in surimi would be more effective. Therefore, this review summarizes the new carbohydrates applied in the processing of surimi and surimi products, and their novel functionalities. Additionally, the research progress on the mechanism of carbohydrate improving the qualities of surimi is also reviewed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.