Jelly fish Processing

Topic outline
Definition of jelly fish
Characteristics of spoiled jelly fish
Structure of a Jellyfish
Jellyfish Processing
Grading of Jellyfish
Composition of fresh and processed jellyfish and
Uses of jelly fish
 Jellyfish
 Is a hemispherical saucer shaped transparent bell or umbrella with a slight bluish
tinge, bounded with fine marginal tentacles.
 The mouth is on the undersurface of the umbrella and is protected by fused oral arms
commonly known as legs.
 several species of scyphozoan jelly fish with mild stings are edible
 edible jellyfish are estuarine in nature
Primarily caught from the Northwest Pacific and western pacific ocean by several
countries including :
Thailand, Indonesia, malaysia, Philippines and china
Species of jellyfish that are usually
utilized are:
 Stomolophus melagris L.Agassiz, cannonball jellyfish
 among the edible species Rhopilema esculentum
Kisinouye is the most abundant and important species in
Asian.
Facts: China is the first country to process jellyfish ( other
producing country learned the traditional processing
techniques from the Northern Chinese with slight
modification.)
Pre – processing of jellyfish
 after harvesting it is cleaned by seawater.
 scraped to remove mucus membranes and gonadal material

For Short term preservation:

after harvesting use seawater containing 1 – 2% alum (potassium
aluminum sulfate) is recommended by some procesors
Jellyfish Processing
Traditional processing method consist of lowering the water content of
the jellyfish using a mixture of salt and alum.
Only the umbrella is used for processing but in case of a large raw
materials the oral arms (legs) are processed separately however the
product has lower commercial value.
The average yield of umbrellas from whole jellyfish is 60 – 65%.
The water content of jelly fish 96 – 97%, hence it is easily spoils
Preparation of Raw Materials
Prior to processing the oral arms and intestine are separated from
the “umbrella”.
Umbrella are cleaned, uncurled and flattened.
The edges are trimmed using bamboo knives to avoid damage to
the surface of the umbrella, then washed and again clean in dilute
water (3 percent salt solution)or seawater before processing.
Any stain or remaining mucus during this process must be
removed completely.
First Salting
Cleaned “umbrellas” are sprinkled with salt containing 10% alum ( about 1 kg
of salt/ alum mixture for 8 – 10 kg material).
The salted “umbrellas” are piled in cement tanks ( 1 – 1.5 m deep) and are left
for a day in the tanks.
During this process the jelly fish loose about 35 – 40 % of their water content.
Wet method – a solution of salt/alum is used with the addition of bleaching
powder to improve the color of jellyfish, the pH is maintained between 3.5 – 4.5
by addition of lime.
Second Salting
The umbrella are strewn with salt containing 8%
alum, around 1 kg salt/alum for 10 kg of jellyfish
The salted product is piled in a fresh tank and left for
three to our days.
Third salting
The salted jellyfish is again salted with 6 – 7% alum,
piled in a fresh tank and then left for five to six days
The oral arms (commonly known as legs) of large
animals are treated this way since they too have a
commercial value although lower than the umbrella
Fourth salting
The tanks are either drained or the salt water is
pumped out after the third salting
Saturated salt solution (20 – 25% Baume) is filled
into the tanks , then the jellyfish is left in this medium
for 4 – 5 days.
Piling - dehydration
Salted umbrella’s are piled at a height of 60 – 70 cm on slightly sloping draining
board or a tabaletop covered with a vinyl sheet.
Salt ( 3 -30% of the weight of the jellyfish) is sprinkled on the surface of the
individual jellyfish during the piking process.
Excess water is allowed to drain from the pile, w/c may last for 4 – 6 days.
The bottom piles of the umbrella must be transferred to the top to facilitate proper
drainage of water and prevent from water clogging at the bottom of the pile
Finished product will have 60 -65% moisture.
Packaging and storage
 the finished product is graded base on diameter
 packed in double-vinyl sheets and put into wooden crates, then stored at 2 -
5˚C
 Storage of the product above 20˚C leads to softening
 whole storage below 0˚C can result to loss in texture.
Alum when use excessive will lead into development of a commercially
unacceptable white color during extended storage.
Allowance for weight loss (due to the moisture loss) during storage must made
before packaging.
Processing of jelly fish in a mixture of salt and alum is necessary
to obtain products of desirable structure and texture.
Alum reduces pH, acts as disinfectant and a hardening agent,
giving and maintaining a firm texture by precipitating protein.
Salts aids in reducing the water content and in keeping the
product microbialy stable
SALT AND ALUM USED SINGULARLY IN PROCESSING OF
JELLYFISH DOES NOT PRODUCE A PRODUCT OF SATISFACTORY
PROPERTIES.
EXCESSIVE LIQUIDATION OF THE TISSUE OCCURS IN THE
ABSENCE OF SALT WHILE DISAGREEABLE ODORS DEVELOP IN
THE ABSENCE OF ALUM.
In Malaysia and Thailand a small amount of soda is often
added in addition to salt and alum in facilitating water
dehydration in the curing solution and increase the crispiness
of the cured jellyfish, while in china the soda is omitted
because of the large variation among the species. The amount
of alum and salt are base on the standardization of their
products.
T H E L OW E R T H E P H G R E AT LY R E D U C E S T H E P O S S I B I L I T Y OF
MI C R O B I A L GR OW T H A N E N H A NC E S T H E S H E L F L I F E O F T H E P R O D UC T.
T H E Q U A L I T Y O F S A LT G R E AT LY A F F E C T T HE A S H C O N T E N T S I N
P R O C E S S E D JE L LY F I S H .
L O W GR AD E C H E MI C A L S A N D E Q U I P ME N T 'S C A N B E T H E S O U R C E OF
H E AV Y M E TA L C ON TA MI N AT I O N .
R E F I N E D C U R I N G AG E N T SHOULD BE USED IN P R OC E S S I N G OF
J E L LY F I S H .
G O O D Q U A L I TY O F D RI ED J EL LY F I SH I S M EA S U R ED BY I T S
T E X TU RE , A C O M BI N AT I O N O F TE N D ER E L A S TI C A N D CRU N CH Y
C H A R A CT ER I S TI CS A N D I T S C O LO R.
T H E C O LO R O F FR ES H LY P RO C ES SE D J ELLY FI SH A R E C REA MY
W H I TE .
B U T G RA D U A L LY TU RN S Y EL LO W I S H A S TH E PRO D U CT A G E S.
I N A S I A N JE LLY F I S H M A R K ET, A W H I T E R CO LO RED P RO D U C TS H A S
H I G H ER RE TA I L VA L U E , Y EL LO W B U T N O T BR O W N I N C O LO R I S
A CCE P TA BL E
T H E L O N G ER T H E S A M P LE RE M A I N S A R O U N D T H E D A RK E R I T
B EC O MES A N D I F I T RE MA I N S TO O L O N G , I T TU RN S BRO W N A N D T H E
P R O D U C T I S U N A CCE P TA BL E.
S A LT ED JEL LY F I S H H A S A STA B LE S H E LF LI F E U P TO 1 Y EA R AT A
R O O M TE MPE RATU RE, I T CA N B E I N CRE A S E D TO M O RE T H A N 2
Y EA RS I F TH E P R O D U C T I S K E P T CO O L H O W E V ER F RE EZ I N G S P O I L S
T H E P RO D U CT W /C D RI E S O U T CO MP L ET ELY A N D BE CO M E S
C O V E RE D W I T H W RI N K LE S
P R O LO N G S TO RA G E AT WA R M A N D A M BI E N T TE M PE RATU RE MAY
C A U S E A L O S S O F CRI SP I N ES S O R SP O I L A G E O F P RO D U C TS
Grading of jellyfish
Commercial grading of jellyfish is base on diameter of the
discs:
1. grade I – has a diameter of 33 cm and above
2. grade ii – has a diameter of 25 – 33 cm
3. grade iii – has a diameter of 17 – 25 cm and
4. others as off grade or small pieces
 Composition of fresh
and processed jellyfish
 Jellyfish Composition (%)
sample
Moistur Protein Salt Alum Ash
e
Fresh 96 – 97 1 – 1.5 2 – 2.5 - 2 – 3.0
Processed 65 – 67 4–6 16 – 24 0.7 – 3.0 17 – 25
Uses of jellyfish
It is important in southeast Asian or chines diet
Two main types of jellyfish in the market the white type w/c is widely distributed
in the region and the red type(for export) w/c is quite rare and of higher
commercial value’
Processed jellyfish were soaked in water to soften it, cut into strips and scalded.
The final product will have crunchy and elastic texture when prepared in this
manner.
It is usually marinated in a seasoned mixture especially in Japanese cuisine it is
significant component in serving grated vegetables
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