The effects of high-pressure processing (HPP) on gel properties and water properties of Nemipterus
virgatus (N. virgatus) surimi gel, the correlation among spinespin relaxation time (T2), water holding
capacity (WHC) and gel properties were studied. The results show that breaking force, breaking
displacement, rupture work and WHC of surimi gels increased and then decreased significantly as the
pressure increased, and reached the maximum values at 400 MPa, larger than that from 0.1 MPa and
heat-set samples. It was noteworthy that cooking loss, spinespin relaxation time (T2), solubility and
myosin heavy chain (MHC) bands intensity of N. virgatus surimi gel decreased and then increased
significantly as the pressure increased, lower than that from 0.1 MPa and heat-set samples, and reached
the minimum values at 400 MPa. In addition, a denser network structure of N. virgatus surimi gel was
achieved at 400 MPa. It indicated that high pressure of 400 MPa not only contributed to WHC
improvement of N. virgatus surimi gels, decreased cooking loss and solubility, but also forming a denser,
micromesh-like, more uniform, and hierarchical 3D network structure via cross-linking of MHC. This
structure resulted in the increase in WHC and improvement of gel properties.