Tremella polysaccharide-assisted formation of stable soy protein isolate Pickering emulsion on gelatinization of Nemipterus virgatus surimi via continuous microwave heating

Nemipterus virgatus surimi gel fabricated by continuous microwave heating (CMH) was characterized for the addition of a Tremella polysaccharide/soy protein isolate Pickering emulsion (TSPE), using free soybean oil (SO) and a physical mixture of TSPE as controls. Compared to free SO, TSPE could significantly ( P  < 0.05) improve palatability, with increased mechanical properties, including 21.95% gel strength, 12.67% chewiness, and 6.93% adhesiveness. Addition of 3% TSPE effectively filled the network structure with reduced gel porosity of up to 52.09%, improved water-holding capacity, and minimized cooking loss by converting free water to immobilized water, likely due to a more highly-ordered molecular arrangement with increased β-sheet content. Furthermore, molecular docking analysis showed that Tremella polysaccharide in TSPE could act as an effective emulsifier through binding interactions via carbonyl and hydroxyl groups. The findings above demonstrate the great potential of Tremella polysaccharide-incorporated Pickering emulsions in enhancing the quality of surimi gel.