Effect of Heat Source on the Physio-Chemical Evaluation and Sensory Evaluation of African Catfish (Clariasgariepinus)

Abstract

The effect of two heat source on the physio-chemical evaluation and sensory evaluation of African catfish (Clariasgariepinus) was evaluated. A total of fifty Clariasgariepinus with mean weight 250±25g were caught from the fish farm. The fish were gutted, washed thoroughly with water to remove slime and blood; thereafter, the dressed weights were taken. The fish were transferred into a basket for proper draining of water prior to smoking. Smoking was conducted using charcoal in a traditional smoking kiln for a period of one hour and electric oven, during which turning over of the fish was done at intervals to achieve a uniform smoking. The heat sources to be use for this study are charcoal and electric oven. Cooking loss was determined, organoleptic assessmentwas evaluated and proximate analysis was conducted on the nutrient composition using a standard procedure. Data were analysed using descriptive statistic and ANOVA at α0.05. The electric oven heat source catfish had the highest cooking loss compared to the charcoal heat source catfish. The charcoal heat source catfish was more preferred than electric oven heat source catfish in terms of colour, texture, tenderness and juiciness than the electric oven heat catfish. There was significant difference (P>0.05) in proximate composition of catfish smoked with two different heat source and fresh catfish. The charcoal heat source and electric oven heat source catfish were significantly same in crude protein 56.28% and 54.96% respectively but higher than fresh catfish. Similar trend was observed for the ether extract. The moisture content of fresh catfish was higher (71.85%) than both charcoal heat source and electric oven heat catfish with 11.14% and 11.69% respectively. The results obtained from this study showed that charcoal possessed good potential as fuel for smoking African catfish without inhibiting the nutrients and consumer acceptability, hence, recommended for fish smoking than electric oven heat source.