CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND SENSORY VALUES OF MACKEREL FISH PATTIES AS AFFECTED BY DIFFERENT COOKING METHODS

As fish consumption continues to grow due to its high protein content and essential fatty acids,
developing value-added products like fish patties can improve dietary intake and marketability.
The study investigated the impact of different cooking methods on the quality of mackerel fish
patties. It was conducted at the Animal Production Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Ibrahim
Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Niger State. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD)
was employed with five cooking methods; broiling (10 minutes), frying(15 minutes),
steaming(20 minutes), boiling(15 minutes), and baking(30 minutes). Each treatment were
replicated five times and each replicate consisted of patties weighing 40g, prepared by
incorporating sieved wheat flour into the minced fish, eggs, vegetable oil and seasonings. The
patties were evaluated in terms of proximate composition, physicochemical properties, and
sensory attributes. Significant differences (p<0.05) were observed among treatments. Steamed
patties had the highest protein (37.00±0.001%) and cooking yield (95.00±1.77%), while fried
patties recorded the highest fat (18.32±0.001%) and carbohydrate (14.35±0.001%) levels.
Boiled patties retained the highest moisture (39.97±0.001%) but had lower protein. Sensory
evaluation revealed steamed patties were most preferred in all the sensory parameters; juiciness,
consistency, flavour and overall acceptability. The findings suggested steaming as the most
suitable cooking method for producing nutritious and consumer-acceptable mackerel fish patties
enhanced with wheat flour.