The composition and properties of squid meat

Many European and American fisheries have recently started to exploit oceanic and inshore squid resources. There is thus a need for developing domestic markets for squid products. The yield of edible parts of squid is 60–80% of the total weight and the chemical composition of the meat is similar to that of lean fish. However, the structure of the muscles is different, being composed of several layers of fibres running transversally to each other and covered with several sheets of connective tissue. A characteristic feature of squid proteins is a high proteinase activity and high solubility of the myofibrillar proteins during exhaustive extraction with water. The cooking loss in squid is up to about 40%. The texture, which does not resemble that of cooked fish, and the juiciness of the squid mantle, can be controlled by the cooking time and by pretreatment in polyphosphate solutions.