A Preliminary Study on the Development of Turkish Salmon Lakerda: Changes in Physicochemical Quality During Processing and a Sensory Comparison with Bonito Lakerda

In this study, the physicochemical changes in Turkish salmon during lakerda processing were characterized, and the differences in the sensory profile of the product compared to traditional bonito lakerda were identified. During the 22-day lakerda production process, which was carried out using fish averaging 46.25 cm in length and weighing 1,348.72 g, the TVB-N value decreased from 22.74 mg N/100 g in the raw sample to 9.54 mg N/100 g in the final product lakerda (Step 5). During brining, the salt content increased from 0.78% to 12.21%, settling at 8.68% in the final product. Concurrently, water activity decreased from 0.99 to 0.78, reaching 0.91 in the final stage. Moisture content dropped from 67.91% to 47.58% before rising to 61.83%, while the maximum protein content reached 26.70%. The sensory evaluation revealed that Turkish salmon lakerda showed significant differences from traditional bonito lakerda in terms of firmness and perceived saltiness (p < 0.05), while it received a similar level of acceptance to bonito lakerda in terms of overall consumer preference (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the sensory panel results show that Turkish salmon is a strong and sensory-equivalent alternative to traditional bonito lakerda in terms of consumer preference.