Changes in viscoelastic properties as a function of the wheat starch content of crab sticks from Alaska Pollock and Pacific Whiting surimi determined from transient and oscillatory measurements were studied. Based on the frequency dependence of the complex shear modulus (G*), the two types of sticks were discriminated in terms of get stiffness (A,,) and the difference (G0' - G0 '') as a function of starch content. Creep and recovery tests allowed gel strength, S, to be determined from the relation modulus, G(t). This body of parameters provides an interesting method for the industrial assessment of the nominal quality of surimi and its derivatives. Overall, the tests revealed that stiffness and hardness in the product increase with increasing starch contents. Specifically, the optimum starch content for Alaska Pollock sticks was found to be 11%, above which the product becomes unacceptably hard and brittle. By contrast, the optimum starch content for Pacific Whiting sticks was 11-15%, which reflects a decreased gelling capacity of this type of surimi. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.