Desalting of dried salt-cured cod (Gadus morhua L.) without water renewal - 3D imaging of volume change

Abstract Desalting of dried salt-cured cod without water renewal with stirring every 12 h, and in stagnant water, was explored. Products of about 450 g were desalted for 96 h, followed by refrigerated storage in 120 h. During the desalting and subsequent storage, the change in weight, volume, salt-, and water content was calculated. Two different methods for calculation were applied, namely calculating the changes time by time, and by calculating the kinetic constants, k 1 and k 2 , which express the total mass variation by pressure gradients, and the overall pseudo-diffusional and hydrodynamic mechanisms, respectively. A positive correlation between the change in weight, volume, and water content was observed, and these variables correlated negatively with the change in salt content. By calculating changes time by time, a significant difference in weight and salt content of the surface between the two desalting regimens was observed only after 96 h. The kinetic constants did, however, show a significant difference between the two desalting regimens for weight, salt, and water. A positive correlation between the volume and weight was observed irrespective of the desalting regimens. This indicates a future potential in applying an improved 3D imaging as an indicator of the weight changes during the desalting process.