Evolution of Volatile Fraction and ATP Related Compounds During Storage of Desalted Cod (Gadus morhua)

The objective of this work was to study the evolution of the volatile fraction, and ATP and its breakdown products, in desalted cod thermally treated (water blanching, steam blanching and microwave heating), stored at 4 °C. All analyses were carried out at 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of storage, as in the treated samples as in the control samples (desalted cod without thermal pre-treatment). The study of the volatile fraction revealed a similar behavior of the water blanched and steam blanched samples, by one hand, and of the control samples and those treated with microwave, on the other hand. This fact would imply a lower effectiveness of the microwave treatment on the preservation of the initial odor of desalted cod. The initial K1-values were lower in control and microwave samples than in water and steam blanched samples. However, the higher increase of K1-values throughout the storage in control and microwave samples would indicate a higher spoilage for these samples during the studied period. According to these results, the two blanching treatments were more effective than microwave heating in the preservation of desalted cod.