Organic acid composition and consumer acceptability of fermented fish produced from black tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and Javanese carp (Puntius gonionotus) using natural and acid-assisted fermentation

Ikan pekasam is an example of traditional fermented food products in Malaysia, preparedfrom freshwater fish such as black tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and Javanese carp(Puntius gonionotus), salt and ground roasted rice, which is added as the only source ofcarbohydrate. However, some producers add tamarind (Tamarindus indica) pulp and/ordried slices of Garcinia atroviridis to assist the fermentation process. In this study, therewas no correlation detected between pH value, titratable acidity (% lactic acid), saltconcentration, organic acid composition and the consumer acceptability of ikan pekasamcommercial samples made of black tilapia as well as Javanese carp. The organic acidcomposition in both natural and acid-assisted fermented ikan pekasam from black tilapiaand Javanese carp were compared. The results obtained showed that lactic acid was themajor organic acid detected, followed by succinic acid and acetic acid. The addition oftartaric and/or garcinia acids was proven to reduce the fermentation time. Therefore, theaddition of acid has assisted the fermentation process by increasing the total organic acidcontent, mainly lactic acid. Moreover, the 9-point hedonic scale showed that ikan pekasammade of Javanese carp had higher overall acceptability due to tender flesh/muscle texturecompared to black tilapia regardless of the fermentation process and organic acid content