Kamaboko is a traditional Japanese seafood product. Large amounts of non-standard by-products or kamaboko pieces are discarded during preparation. Tempe is a traditional Indonesian foodstuff produced by solid-state fermentation of soybean with Rhizopus strain. We applied the tempe fermentation method to efficiently utilize kamaboko wastes with the aim of obtaining valuable food products. Glucoamylase and acidic protease are important for tempe fermentation. We selected Rhizopus strain for kamaboko fermentation like tempe using glucoamylase activity and acidic protease activity as indexes. Among 13 Rhizopus strains, Rhizopus sp. MKU18 showed the highest acidic protease activity from fermented kamaboko. However, the glucoamylase activity of fermented kamaboko by Rhizopus sp. MKU18 was not detected. Thus, we investigated the effect of a mixture of kamaboko and steamed rice on glucoamylase and acid protease activity by Rhizopus sp. MKU18. Supplementation of kamaboko with steamed rice suppressed acidic protease production, but increased the glucoamylase production (about 17-36 times). The smells of fermented kamaboko are musty and ammonia odors. However, in the case that kamaboko with steamed rice, fermented mixture has pleasant smell. Thus, the method described opens up new avenues for novel fermentation food from the kamaboko with Rhizopus sp. MKU18 like tempe.
fermentation
kamaboko (minced product)
traditional food technology
Rhizopus strain