Identifier

etd-04052015-110001

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Department

School of Nutrition and Food Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Louisiana is famous for its diverse food, culture, and festivals. Crawfish are synonymous with Louisiana cuisine. Approximately 90% of the crawfish harvested in the United States are harvested in Louisiana, but their availability is seasonal (NOAA 2014). Both in-state and out-of-state demand for whole cooked crawfish and for their availability outside the normal harvest season has increased. There is interest from crawfish processors on whether or not steaming of crawfish results in a higher yield than boiling, as traditionally done. This study measures yield, quality parameters, and shelf life of whole boiled and steamed crawfish held in either refrigerated or frozen storage. Microbiological, lipid oxidation, proximate analyses, pH, texture properties, color, mineral, and fatty acid analyses and yield determinations were performed. Live crawfish (Procambarus clarkii), were either boiled or steamed, then stored for up to 11 days in refrigerated (3°C) conditions or six months in frozen storage (-18°C). The crawfish were then peeled and aerobic plate counts and E.coli/coliform counts determined using 3M™ Petrifilms. Lipid oxidation was measured by TBARS analyses. Texture as measured by peak force and work of shearing was determined using a 5-blade Kramer shear attachment on a TA-XT Plus Texture Analyzer. Proximate and pH analyses were conducted using AOAC procedures. Color was evaluated based on Hunter color scale values (L*, a*, and b*) with 10 replications. Mineral analysis was conducted via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Fatty acid analysis was conducted using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in duplicate. Statistics were conducted using SAS 9.3 with GLM and LS-Mean separation. Results from these analyses suggest there is no benefit to cooking crawfish via steam versus the boiling method. No appreciable yield difference was observed between the two cooking methods and the shelf life through refrigerated and frozen storage was statistically the same for both cooking methods.

Date

2014

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Janes, Marlene

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.1880

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