Sensory Characteristics of Salted Skipjack Tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) with Different Salt Concentrations

Abstract

Salted fish is a food product made from fish meat preserved by adding a significant amount of salt. One processed product from skipjack tuna is salted fish. This study aims to determine the sensory characteristics of salted skipjack tuna with the addition of different salt concentrations. This research method involved adding salt at concentrations of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% by weight/weight using the dry salting method. The fish were cleaned, gutted, butterflied, and sprinkled with coarse salt. The fish were then stored in a container for 24 hours and sun-dried, and 30 untrained panellists will conduct the sensory evaluation. The analysis method used was descriptive. The sensory analysis results with salt additions of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% showed appearance scores of 6.16, 6.54, 7.82, and 7.51; aroma scores of 5.84, 6.72, 7.77, and 7.34; taste scores of 5.84, 6.72, 8.09, and 7.21; and texture scores of 5.84, 7.18, 8.15, and 7.51, respectively. The salted skipjack tuna with the highest scores was achieved with 30% salt addition, with appearance, aroma, taste, and texture scores of 7.82, 8.15, 8.09, and 8.15, respectively. The results indicate that increasing salt concentration can enhance the sensory values of salted fish.