Preparation and characterization of surimi-based imitation crab meat using coaxial extrusion three-dimensional food printing

Abstract

This study proposes a novel approach to implementing the filament structure of imitation crab meat by coating potato starch (PS) solution on the outside of surimi using coaxial extrusion 3D food printing. To determine the optimum concentration, experiments were conducted using a 0-15% PS solution. Surimi-based imitation crab meat using a 12% PS solution showed the best results in terms of printing characteristics, water-holding capacity, and cooking loss. In addition to the aligned-rectilinear pattern generally used in imitation crab meat, this study presents the change in texture according to the internal structure using rectilinear and concentric patterns. The 3D-printed imitation crab meat with the aligned-rectilinear pattern was similar to the commercial reference imitation crab meat. This study successfully tested fiberization-a challenging process for 3D food printing-using coaxial extrusion 3D food printing. This system can be applied to other 3D-printed foods that require a filament structure and fiberization.