A mini review on manipulation of carbohydrate for better use in surimi and surimi products: modification and compounding

Abstract Carbohydrate is widely used in the production of surimi and surimi products to improve their qualities, such as anti‐freezing capability, gelling ability, nutrition, flavor and 3D printability. More and more native carbohydrates have been modified through physical methods (e.g., ball milling, irradiation and differential sedimentation), chemical method (e.g., deacetylation, hydroxypropylation and acetic acid esterification) or enzymatic method (e.g., chitosanase) before being used in the processing of surimi and surimi products in recent years. At the same time, different carbohydrates are compounded and applied to surimi and surimi products. The modified and compounded carbohydrates in surimi have been proved to improve quality of surimi and surimi products more pronouncedly than native carbohydrates. Therefore, this review summarizes the manipulation of carbohydrate by modification and compounding to improve the qualities of surimi and surimi products. Moreover, the prospects for carbohydrate modification and compounding for use in surimi and surimi products are discussed. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.