Title : Effect Of Slicing Thickness To The Drying Rate And Sensory Attributes

Of Fish Crackers
Introduction :
Fish crackers are made by mixing the ingredients with tapioca flour and
water. The mixture is rolled out, steamed, sliced and dried. In the traditional
way, to achieve maximum crispiness, raw crackers usually are sun-dried first
before frying to eliminate the moisture. Once dry, they are deep-fried in oil ,
in only a few seconds they expand from thumb-sized semi-transparent chips
to white fluffy crackers , as water bound to the starch expands as it turns into
steam. If left in the open air for more than a few hours (depending on
humidity), they start to soften and become chewy and therefore are ideally
consumed within a few hours of being fried. Storing the crackers in a low
humidity environment or an airtight container will preserve the crispness.
In this experiment, we will observe the effect of slicing thickness to the
drying rate and sensory attributes of the fish crackers. Drying of fish crackers
by using dehydration principle which reduce the moisture content and water
activity that can stop the activity of spoilage microbes , enzymes and
undesirable biochemical reaction is also applied.
As the thickness of
crackers increases, the moisture content also increases. In addition, the
larger the thickness of the crackers, the longer the drying rate of the
crackers.

Objective :
1. To learn the processing method for production of fish crackers
2. To study the effect of slicing thickness to dehydration rate and texture
after drying

Ingredient :
Fish 500g
Potatoes 500g
Tapioca
flour
600g
Salt 20g
Sugar 20g
Water

Procedure :
1. All the ingredient are prepared.
2. The skin of the the potatoes are washed. The potatoes are boiled about
15 minutes, the skin of the potatoes are removed and mashed.
3. Fish meat, tapioca flour, salt, sugar and potatoes are minced in a bowl
chopper until all the ingredients are mixed well. Water is added slowly
during the mixing to form smooth dough.
4. The dough is placed in stuffer or roll with plastic film to form a
cylindrical shaped. It then steamed for 1 hour and 30 minutes and
cooled at room temperature.
5. The dough is kept refrigerator overnight to harden the dough for easy
slicing. The dough is sliced using slicing machine at different thickness.
6. The crackers are arranged on a drying tray and then placed in the
cabinet dryer set at 40c overnight for three days.

Discussion
From the experiment, the processing method for production of fish crackers
rate and the slicing thickness to the dehydration rate and texture after frying
is determined. In fish crackers making process, tapioca flour is mixed with
fish and other ingredients and then kneaded to obtain dough. The dough is
formed to a cylindrical shape and then cooked by boiling or steaming. The
cooked dough is cooled and cut to certain thickness which is 0.5 mm, 1.5
mm, 2.5 mm, and 3.5 mm of fish crackers and then dried in cabinet dryer.
The dried cracker obtained is then fried in hot cooking oil to measure the
linear expansion.
Moisture content is defined as the percentage of water in a product. Moisture
in some form and amount is found in almost everything and can have
different effects on different products. During the experiment, moisture
content of different thickness of fish crackers is measured by using this
formula:Moisture content (%) = weight loss/initial weight x 100 %
Hence the moisture content measured in 0.5 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.5 mm and 3.5
mm is 46.73 %, 44.87 %, 43.81 % and 48.50 % respectively. From the graph
constructed, the moisture content is slightly decreases from 0.5 mm to 2.5
mm and increased back to 48.50 % of moisture content in 3.5 mm of fish
cracker slicing thickness. Meanwhile, through the result obtained the
moisture content increases as the thickness of fish crackers increases.
Meanwhile, the drying rate of fish crackers become longer as the thickness of
fish crackers is larger. This is because product structure and composition also
play an important role in relationship between cracker thickness and drying
rate.

Besides , linear expansion of different fish crackers thickness is also

determined by using this formula :-

Linear expansion is the increase of a planar dimension, measured by the

linear elongation of a sample which is exposed to two given temperatures

which is before frying and after frying. Linear expansion of fish crackers is
affected by many factors such as frying time, oil temperature moisture
content and etc. From the result obtained, linear expansion of 0.5 mm, 1.5
mm, 2.5 mm and 3.5 mm is 0.7972, 0.8044, 0.8211 and 0.8395 respectively.
From the result, we can conclude that the higher the linear expansion, the
larger the thickness of fish crackers. This is because; air cell is formed during
frying that lead to expansion. When cracker contacts the hot oil, the moisture
is evaporated and forms pores in the cracker that will increases the linear
expansion of the crackers.
At the end of experiment, sensory evaluation of potato crackers is
determined as it is important in order to determine the acceptability of the
customers. The sensory evaluation that involved is including the crispiness
and also the taste before comment on overall acceptability can be made.
Through the result, 0.5 mm of fish crackers show that the crispiness is lighter
and very crispy, while the taste evaluation showing that the taste was lack of
fish taste instead of potato and tapioca flour taste. And lastly, the overall
acceptability showing that it can be accepted. While the crispiness, taste,
and overall acceptability of 1.5 mm fish crackers thickness is crispy, delicious
and can be accepted respectively. Different from 2.5 mm and 3.5 mm of fish
crackers where the crispiness is not crispy and overall acceptability can be
accepted for both of this thickness. Meanwhile, taste is tasteless for 2.5 mm
and plain for 3.5 mm. Most of the evaluator evaluate that 1.5 mm slicing
thickness is most suitable than other thickness. Cracker crispiness, taste and
overall acceptability is also affected by some factors that occur during frying,
and also the raw material used.
Through the experiment, there are some source error that may affect the
accuracy of the result and also the sensory evaluation of potato crackers. For
example, the weight of tapioca flour, salt and fish is not measured correctly,
the dough also not exactly steamed according to the time given as we longer
the time that it supposed to be. All of this error may affect the sensory
evaluation of fish crackers especially the taste. Certain thickness of the
potato crackers is also not constant as it depends on the efficiency of the
slicing machine. To minimize these errors various precautions should be
taken .For example, more than three consecutive samples were carried out
to eliminate the errors of the handlers.
Conclusion

The larger the thickness of fish crackers, the higher the moisture content and
the longer the drying rate. Thus, the hypothesis is accepted.

Reference
K. Limpaiboon, (2011), Effects of Temperature and Slice Thickness on Drying
Kinetics of Pumpkin Slices , Retrieved from http://wjst.wu.ac.th
F. Pedreschi, ( n.d ), Oil distribution in potato slices during frying, Retrieved
from
Taewee, T. K , (2011) , Cracker Keropok: A review on factors influencing
expansion , International Food Research Journal 18(3): 855-866
,
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Science and
Technology.