The objective of this study was to reveal the effects of boiling processing on the texture of scallop adductor muscle (SAM) and its mechanism. Compared to the fresh sample, all the texture indicators, including the hardness, chewiness, springiness, resilience, cohesiveness, and shear force of 30-s- and 3-min-boiled SAMs increased time-dependently (p < 0.05). As the boiling time increased further to 15 min, the shear force and cohesiveness still increased significantly (p < 0.05), and the resilience and hardness were maintained (p > 0.05), but the springiness and chewiness decreased significantly (p < 0.05). The overall increase in the texture indicators of the boiled SAMs was due to the boiling-induced protein denaturation, aggregation, and increased hydrophobicity, resulting in the longitudinal contraction and lateral expansion of myofibrils, the longitudinal contraction and lateral cross-linked aggregation of muscle fibers, and the loss of free water. However, the decreasing springiness and chewiness of the 15-min-boiled SAMs was due to the significant degradation of proteins (especially collagen), resulting in the destruction of the connective tissue between the muscle fiber clusters. Both from a subjective sensory point of view and from the objective point of view of protein denaturation and degradation, 3-min-boiled SAMs are recommended. The quality improvement of thermally processed products by controlled, moderate cooking is of practical value from the perspective of food consumption.
Keywords: boiling; muscle fiber; myofibril; protein degradation; protein denaturation; scallop; texture.