30G-7 |
Rehydrated dehydrofrozen fruit as potential retail and food service products |
C. C. HUXSOLL1, D. A. Olson, and T. H. McHugh. (1) Western Regional Research Center, United States Department of Agriculture, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA, 94710 There is a continuing need to provide alternative fruit and vegetable products to increase per capita consumption, increasing the likelihood that consumers will have the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. There is also a continuing need to develop alternative processing systems, especially for commodities with short harvest seasons. We have proposed developing dehydrofreezing and rehydrating techniques to provide alternatives to fresh prepared products. Our objective was to explore mild processing and rehydrating techniques to make products with fresh characteristics. Apples were chosen as the test material. Color and texture were the quality factors to be optimized, provided off-flavors did not develop. The dehydrofreezing process comprised chemical pretreatment, drying to 55% weight reduction, blanching, and freezing. Screening tests were conducted to minimize chemical concentrations and temperatures for each unit operation. Elimination of all brown centers in the thawed product was the criteria for establishing process parameters. Ascorbic acid, citric acid, and calcium chloride dihydrate were used in the pretreatment process. Pretreatment with each chemical at 0.2 % concentration for 60 minutes at 40oC, air-drying at 60oC, and blanching at 70oC after drying resulted in good color retention with no cooked character. Rehydration below 40oC maintained fresh character. Texture Profile Analysis indicated about 50 % decrease in springiness and chewiness, and 100 % increase in cohesiveness for rehydrated material compared to fresh. Adhesiveness and gumminess remained equal. Color analysis showed L=77.7, a=-5.0, and b=18.7, for fresh, and L=71.0, a=-3.2, and b=13.7, for rehydrated material. : This work demonstrates how mild-processing techniques may be used to concentrate and subsequently reconstitute piece-form fruit to yield products with fresh-like attributes. This will be especially important for commodities with short fresh market seasons.
Session 30G, Fruit & Vegetable Product: Processed Fruits and Vegetables
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