Abstract
An alternative gelatin source of mammals is in demand in the food industry. In this paper, the effects of different pretreatment methods on the physicochemical properties, structure and Pickering emulsion stability of Chinese soft-shelled turtle carapace gelatins (TCG) were systematically studied. TCG prepared by alkali pretreatment (Al-TCG) had the highest yield (2.03%). The highest gel strength (369.33 g), viscosity (26.25 mPa·s), and the shortest setting time (1.84 min) were observed in TCG prepared by acid pretreatment (Ac-TCG), while the highest gelling temperature (19.56℃) and melting temperature (28.63℃) were found in TCG prepared by enzyme pretreatment (En-TCG). Ac-TCG and En-TCG exhibited higher amino acid contents and stronger band intensities of the α and β chains. The emulsion stabilized by Al-TCG had superior creaming and droplet stability. Therefore, different pretreatment methods significantly influenced certain properties of TCG by altering its structure. TCG could become a potential substitute for traditional mammalian gelatin in the food industry. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-024-06163-1.