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CHAPTER 9

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FISHPreservation

take the challenge!

At the end of this chapter
, the students are expected to:
Lesson 1.1: Determine the Fish Preservation Terminologies
Lesson 1.2: Identify theBody, Cuts and MarketForms ofFish
Lesson 2.1: Understand theFish Preservation
Principles
Lesson 2.2:Differentiate the Characteristics of Fresh from
Stale Fish
Lesson 2.3: Enumerate theAgents of Spoilage
Lesson 3.1:IdentifytheTypes ofFish Curing withPrinciples

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Lesson 3.2: Perform the Methodsof Cutting Fish

Lesson 3.3: Familiarize the Tools and Equipment

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Aerobic is a microorganism that requires free oxygen in order to live.

Colander is a receptacle for draining purposes.

Enzymes are the proteins that act as biochemical catalysts in living organisms.

Eviscerate is the removal of internal organs of fish.

Impure Salt is a kind of salt that is firm and rusty in color.
Smoking is a method of preserving fish by the application of smoke and other
interrelated processes such as salting, drying and heat treatment.
Splitted is the form of fish that is precluded open alongside the dorsal side from head to
tail.
Taeniform is the ribbon like body shape.
Thermophilic is a microorganism that thrives at high temperature

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LESSON 1:
TERMINOLOGIES AND FORMS OF FISH

There are methods and ways of controlling and delaying the spoilage of

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fish and other fish products.

Knowledge of fish processing will help you put up your business that can improve the
standard of living of your family.

Fish Preservation - is any operation that can prevent or inhibit the natural process of
breakdown or decomposition taking place in the fish. It is known as fish processing.

Terminologies in Fish Preservation

1. Autolysis - softening of tissue due to digestive action of

enzyme

2. Brine - mixture of salt and water

3. Can sealer - a machine used to close the open end of

tin can

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4. Canning - method of preparing food in a hermetically

sealed container by the application of heat

5. Dehydration - removal of moisture under controlled

conditions

6. Drying - method of preservation by lowering the

moisture content through the application of
natural or artificial heat

7. Eviscerate - removal of internal organs of fish

8. Exhausting - elimination of air inside the can

9. Gibbing - process of removing internal organs by

cutting a triangular cut at the throat of the
fish

10. Icing - the application of ice to lower the

temperature of the fish
11. pH - refers to hydrogen-ion concentration

12. Pickling - the process of curing of fish in vinegar and

spices

13. Pressure Cooker- a closed metal fitted by a pressure gauge,

control valve and pet cock

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14. Pressure Gauge - a device used to measure and maintain

pressure during processing

15. Refrigeration - method of preservation by lowering the

temperature to point wherein bacterial
growth is inhibited

16. Rigor Mortis - stiffening of the muscles or tissues of the

fish several hours after death

17. Salting - method of preserving fish with salt as its

main preservative

18. Smoking - process of preserving fish with the

application of smoke and other interrelated
processes such as salting, drying, and
heating treatments

19. Vacuum - empty space without air

20. Viscera - internal organ, entrails of fish

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Market Forms and Cuts of Fish

1. Whole or round fish is the structure of fish that is all parts are nevertheless intact.

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2. Drawn fish is the form of fish whose inside organs are eradicated with the resource of
making a slit alongside the belly wall and the entrails pulled out.

3. Dressed Fish is the form of fish whose scales, inner organs, fins, head and tail are
removed.

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4. Steaks are cross sections of a cleaned fish which are around 1-2 cm thick.

5. Splitted is the form of fish that is precluded open alongside the dorsal side from head
to tail.

6. Live fish is the form of fish that is furnished alive.

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7. Fillets are the fleshy facets of the fish which are separated from the backbone and the
ribs.

a. Butterfly Fillet is the fillets that are joined mutually on the ventral sides through
performance of the underside skin.

b. Single Fillet is the fillet form whose side of a fish cut away from the backbone.

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8. Sticks are the cuts kinds fillets or steaks. They are typically from fish that has been
minced and shaped, breaded and frozen.

Common Body Forms of Fish

1. Fusiform is the torpedo like physique shape. Ex: galunggong

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2. Compressiform is the flat and compress laterally. Ex: Slipmouth

3. Depressiform is the depressed dorsal vertically. Ex: Stringray

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4. Taeniform is the ribbon like body shape Ex: hairtail

5. Anguilliform is the serpentine like physique shape. Ex: Eel

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6. Globiform is the round and globular like physique shape. Ex Puffer fish

LESSON 2:
FISH PRESERVATION PRINCIPLES
AND AGENTS OF SPOILAGE

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Principles of Fish Preservation

1. Prevent or delay microbial decomposition of fish

2. Prevent or delay self-decomposition.

3. Prevent other causes of spoilage of fish like physical damage

Changes in Fish After Death

1. Changes in Appearance are the color starts to fade until it becomes dull as
spoilage progresses.

2. Rigor mortis is characterized by the stiffening of the muscle tissue. This state lasts
only for a few minutes in some fish to several hours in others.
The fish in this state is considered fresh.
3. Autolysis is the breakdown of tissues caused by enzymes. Since it softens the
tissue, it proves the activity of microorganisms.
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4. Putrefaction is the state when the components of the flesh are assimilable forms. It
is accompanied by a foul odor, which is the result of the breakdown of protein. The fish
at this stage is spoiled and undesirable.

Characteristics of Fresh and Stale Fish

Fresh Fish Stale Fish

Eyes Bright, bulging pupils Dull, wrinkled, sunken

velvet, black corneas pupils, dull black
transparent corneas opaque

Gills Bright red, covered with Dull brown or gray,

clear slime, fresh odor slime cloudy, odor
under gill cover under gill cover sour
and offensive

Flesh Firm, stiff body; Soft and flabby;

impression made by impression made by
fingers do not fingers remain
remain
Belly walls Intact Often ruptured, viscera
protruding

Muscle Tissue White Pinkish, especially

around backbone

Vent Pink, not protruding Pale brown protruding

Odor Fresh, fishy odor Stale, sour or putrid
Color Bright Faded and dull

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Fresh Fish

Stale Fish

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Agents of Spoilage

1. Microorganisms

Three Main Groups of Microorganism

a. Bacteria - responsible in the breakdown of plant and animal material and the
possible the return of simple inorganic compounds to the soil. The result of this
breakdown is spoilage, fermentation and decay. Since fish is an organic matter, it spoils
easily. As soon as it dies, bacteria act on it.

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b. Molds - fuzzy or cottony organisms that grow on the surface of the food. They are
responsible for the white, orange, black, green or blue green colonies on the surface of
the food.

c. Yeasts - whitish to yellowish colonies on the surface of the food. They appear as a
film on the surface of the liquid or as sediments at the bottom.

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2. Enzymes - proteins that act as biochemical catalysts in living organisms. They are
normally present along the digestive tract and help in the breakdown of food into
assimilable forms.

Classification of Bacteria According to Shape

1. Coccus - round
2. Bacillus - rod-shaped
3. Spirillus - spiral
4. Staphylococcus - grapelike
5. Streptococcus - chainlike

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Classification of Bacteria According to Their Temperature Requirement

1. Thermophilic - thrive at high temperature (heat loving)
2. Psychrophilic - thrive best at low temperature
(cold-loving organisms)
3. Mesophilic - those that thrive between low and high
temperatures

Classification of Bacteria According to Their Oxygen Requirement

1. Aerobic - requires free oxygen in order to live
2. Anaerobic - lives in the absence of free oxygen
3. Facultative - grows with or without free oxygen

Types of Enzymes
1. Lipolytic - enzyme that acts on fats
2. Proteolytic - enzyme that acts on proteins
3. Amylolitic - enzyme that acts on carbohydrates

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LESSON 3:
METHODS, TOOLS AND EQUIPMENTS

METHODS OF FISH PRESERVATION

1. Fish Curing
It includes all the methods of fish preservation except refrigeration and canning. It is the
process of preservation by the use of preservatives and other chemicals for the purpose of
keeping fish and other fishery products fresh for future use.

Types of Fish Curing

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A. Salting is the application of salt to product. It is considered the basis of all methods
of fish preservation

Salt is the colorless or white crystalline compound known chemically as sodium chloride
(NaCl) occurring abundantly in nature, both in solid form and in solution.

Factors Affecting Salting

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a. Composition of Salt

 Pure Salt is the better quality salt. It is soft and flabby and has yellowish
white color.

 Impure Salt is firm and rusty in color.

b. Temperature
Its condition makes the certain object require enough quantity and quality of efforts
to produce the favourable state. High temperature makes salt dissolve faster, permitting a
rapid penetration of the product with salt. c. Methods of Salting
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 Kench Salting
 Dry Salting to Make Brine
 Brine Salting
 Fermenting

d. Methods of Cleaning
 Whole Fish
 Splitted Fish
 Gutted Fish

e. Size of the Fish

It defines how required salt is needed and depends on how the speed of salting
occurs. The small sized of fish is salted faster than larger size of fish

f. Storage of Fish

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B. Drying and Dehydration is the lowering of water content of the product to a degree
where bacteria cannot grow and reproduce with the aid of heat.
 Drying known as natural drying used
 Dehydration is of chemical devices to provide artificial heat for drying

Factors Affecting Drying

a. Humidity of air
b. Velocity of the wind
c. Intensity of the sunshine
 Humidity – amount of moisture in air
 Velocity – speed of air/wind

Factors Affecting Dehydration

a. Kind of drier used
b. Temperature range
c. Storage of finished product
d. Relative humidity

The finished products of drying and dehydration are commonly called daing or
tuyo.
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C. Smoking is a method of preserving fish by the application of smoke and other

interrelated processes such as salting, drying and heat treatment.

Smokehouse - an airtight container where smoke can be introduced

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Types of Smoking
 Hot Smoking or barbecuing - a slow type of broiling that places the product in
close proximity to the fire. The food is cooked and smoked in temperature ranging
150◦F to 190◦F.
 Cold smoking - method of smoking in which the fish are hung at some distance
from a low smouldering fire and cured at temperatures ranging from 90◦F to
110◦F.

Factors Affecting Smoking

 Kind of Fish - fat fish are preferable to lean ones. Scaly fish are usually used to
obtain an attractive appearance of the finished product
 Condition of raw materials
 Kind of smoke-producing materials
a. Hard wood - good quality of smoke is produced
b. Soft wood - thin smoke is produced; thus, a low grade of smoked product
 Length of smoke curing

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C. Pickling is the preservation of food by the use of vinegar and other spices.
Pickling of fish as a method of preservation is not commercially done in the Philippines
because the preservative action of vinegar is short. Pickling has some digestive action in
fish which renders it softer and pastier. Pickled fish is usually used as appetizer so
preservation by this method is recommended for use at home.

2. Canning or Bottling is the application of heat to food in a hermetically sealed

container at a temperature and for a period of time sufficient to destroy
microorganisms and to render any bacterial cell for a definite period of time.

Basic Canning Equipment

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 Can sealer is a machine or instrument that is used to close the open ends of tin
cans.

 Pressure cooker is a modern household device used for processing food for a
definite period of time and pressure.

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 Tin cans and glass jars are containers locally available for canning purposes only.

 Measuring spoons & cups are devices used to measure liquids and solids
ingredients.

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 Colander is a receptacle for draining purposes.

 Basins are containers used for washing and for the preparation of brine.

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 Thermometer is a device used to check temperatures of cooking, drying and cold

storage.

 A clock is an instrument used to determine the length of processing, salting,

steaming or frying

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 Knives are tools used in cleaning, cutting fish into accurate sizes

 Cutting board is a durable board used primarily as guide so that exact sizes of fish
will fit into the different containers.

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LEARNING MODULE IN AGRI-FISHERY ARTS