Determination of Salt Diffusion Coefficient in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

The diffusion properties of sodium chloride in rainbow trout muscle during dry salting at 10 degrees C were investigated. The average initial dry matter content of the samples increased from 27.80 +/- 0.10 to 36.01 +/- 0.16%, and the average salt content increased to 17.98 +/- 0.38 g NaCl/100 g dry matter at the end of the 10-h dry salting process. The analytical solution of Fick's second law considering one-dimensional diffusion through an infinite slab was used to calculate effective salt diffusion coefficients (D-eff). The D-eff values in rainbow trout fillets decreased with increasing salting time and ranged from 6.64 x 10(-10) to 16.45 x 10(-10) m(2)/s.