Brief Comment: Soft texture of Ika(calamari, squid) by The Seafood Advisor

[ShortyXX55]

Brief Comment: Soft texture of Ika(calamari, squid) by The Seafood Advisor
Copyright 2002 by Walter Rhee. All rights reserved. the muscles cannot match the demand, the muscles go into anaerobic state and produces lactic acid. These acids are eventually routed into the liver to produce glucose for energy source.
When animals die, oxygen does not reach the muscles. The muscles then go into anaerobic state and lactic acid is produced. In this lactic acid, there are enzymes that also break down the cells to "self-destruct" or autolyse. This is how beef are tenderized (aka aged)-via autolysis.
In the case of raw ika, the autolysis does come into play for tender texture if not processed right away. You have to set it out for few hours(dictacted again by temperature), shorter than beef which takes days.
However nowadays, STP*(sodium tri-poly phosphate called "tri-poly" in the industry) are also added to the pre-cut ika packages bound for sushi restaurants. Just like soaked scallops, STP is added to retard spoilage and to retain the added water in the process. This also makes the ika have the softer texture.
*This is NOT the chemical used to clean automobile engines.
Walter Rhee, "The Seafood Advisor"

[timmy]

avoid burning out the muscles and causing lactic acid build up that would ruin the precious meat.
One of these days I`ll go tuna fishing.