Abstract:To improve the quality of surimi, the effects of two microwave heating methods (microwave and water bath-microwave combined heating) on gel properties of silver carp surimi were investigated. Single-factor experiments and orthogonal array design were adopted to obtain the optimum technical conditions by using gel strength, water-holding capacity (WHC) and whiteness as the indexes of surimi quality assessment. The changes of different heating methods on the protein molecular structure of surimi were further studied through protein solubility, chemical forces, SDS-PAGE and scanning electron micrographs. The optimum power and time of microwave heating treatment were 600 W and 60 s, respectively, under which the gel strength, WHC and whiteness of silver carp surimi were 608.64 g?cm, 83.64% and 75.79, respectively. The best conditions for water bath-microwave combined heating treatment were water-bath heating at 40 ℃ for 1 h and microwave treatment at 600 W for 60 s, under which the gel strength, WHC and whiteness of silver carp surimi were 627.47 g?cm, 85.37% and 74.37, respectively. The results of verifying test showed that the two microwave heating methods aforementioned were better than the conventional heating method (two-stage water bath heating), while the water bath-microwave combined heating was also better than only microwave heating treatment.