Chemical characteristics and optimization of milkfish terrine formulation withtaro (Colocasia esculenta L.) and agar flour using response surface methodology

Milkfish is an excellent source of high-quality protein, making it an ideal ingredient for the production of functional foods. A novel formulation method, based on the addition of agar and taro flour, was successfully optimized and validated to determine the nutritional value of milkfish terrine. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the optimum concentration of agar and taro flour for milkfish terrine formulation based on their nutritional content. The Box–Behnken Design (BBD) with two factors, agar and taro flour composed of 0, 2.5, and 5% each, was used to optimize this formulation. The main and quadratic effects of the agar and taro flour formulation significantly contributed to the nutritional values (p<0.05) of both types of samples. The treatments consisted of varying concentrations of agar and taro flour, with lower and upper limits of 0% and 5%, respectively. Furthermore, proximate analysis, crude fiber, and calcium content were analyzed. The results revealed seven nutritional parameters that modeled the response to the levels of agar and taro flour addition in milkfish terrine formulation. The addition of agar and taro flour tended to decrease the protein but increased the ash and fiber content of milkfish terrine. Based on the results, the optimum level of agar and taro flour addition for milkfish terrine was 5% of each total ingredient used. The findings suggest that milkfish, agar, and taro flour could be combined to create a new terrine product with higher nutritional value.