A comparative study on chemical characteristics of Indonesian terasies, traditional salted seafoods

Abstract

Terasies are traditional salty seafoods used in almost every food in Indonesia. The production process of terasi depends on the available raw materials and resources in the local manufacture. A comprehensive set of 76 samples from twelve provinces famous for terasies were compared for their dry matter (DM) (66.58 ± 8.81 g/100 g fresh weight (FW)), protein (46.32 ± 10.71 g/100g DM), fat (4.26 ± 1.37 g/100g DM), ash (41.61 ± 11.88 g/100g DM), carbohydrate content (7.81 ± 6.74 g/100g DM), and for their water activity (0.687 ± 0.057). Results showed no particular pattern regarding the province of origin and that chemical characteristics significantly varied within the samples. The total free amino acids (1.21 - 9.65 g/100g N), indicated substantial protein hydrolysis. Alanine, glutamic acid, leucine, aspartic acid, and lysine were abundantly found. Terasi contained prominently putrescine and cadaverine (0.33±0.34 and 0.24±0.26 g/100g N, respectively), followed by tyramine, β-phenylethylamine, histamine (all <0.05 g/100g N). Short chain fatty acid analysis revealed the abundant presence of acetic acid (0.52 g/100g FW), apart from the pungent isovaleric, propionic, isobutyric, and butyric acids (0.01-0.12 g/100g FW). Results indicated inconsistent, unstandardized manufacturing and storage processes which therefore should be improved.