Tenderisation of the dog cockle (Glycymeris glycymeris) meat by polyphosphates

Clams are widely used in the preparation of several seafood dishes but there are still a few bivalve species which have not been extensively used. Among these species is dog cockle (Glycymeris glycymeris), which is a major by-catch of surf clam (Spisula solida) fishing. However, dog cockle has a low commercial value because its texture is too tough after cooking. This study was initiated to find the best way of tenderising the meat of this species to make it suitable for human consumption. Based on preliminary trials using different tenderising products, a mixture of sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium chloride (3% and 1.5% respectively) was considered the most effective. The optimization of the processing parameters (time and temperature) was done by response surface methodology. According to the sensory analysis, objective texture evaluation and phosphate determinations the optimum conditions for the tenderisation process were an immersion time of 3 h at a temperature of 20  °C. The tenderised meat was used in the preparation of two types of canned products (light brine and a pickling sauce known as "escabeche"), which were evaluated by a taste panel and judged satisfactory.