Terasies are traditional salty seafoods used in almost every food in Indonesia. The production process of terasi depends on the available raw materials and resources of the local manufacturer. A comprehensive set of 76 samples from twelve provinces famous for terasies were compared for their dry matter (DM) [66.58±8.81 g/100 g fresh weight (FW)], protein (46.32±10.71 g/100 g DM), fat (4.26±1.37 g/100 g DM), ash (41.61±11.88 g/100 g DM), carbohydrate content (7.81±6.74 g/100 g DM) and for their water activity (0.687±0.057). Results showed no particular pattern regarding the province of origin and that chemical characteristics significantly varied within the samples. The total free amino acids (1.21-9.65 g/100 g N), indicated substantial protein hydrolysis. Alanine, glutamic acid, leucine, aspartic acid and lysine were abundantly found. Terasi contained prominently putrescine and cadaverine (0.33±0.34 and 0.24±0.26 g/100 g N, respectively), followed by tyramine, β-phenylethylamine and histamine (all <0.05 g/100 g N). Short chain fatty acid analysis revealed the abundant presence of acetic acid (0.52 g/100 g FW), apart from the pungent isovaleric, propionic, isobutyric and butyric acids (0.01-0.12 g/100 g FW). Results indicated inconsistent, unstandardized manufacturing and storage processes which therefore should be improved. |
