49F-39 |
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S. I. MARTÍNEZ-MONTEAGUDO1, F. Salais-Fierro1, H. Mújica-Paz1, J. S. Welti-Chanes2, and A. Valdez-Fragoso1. (1) Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Av. Universidad S/N, Chihuahua, 31170, Mexico, (2) Dept. de Ingenieria Química y Alimentos, Univ. de la Américas, Puebla, Sta. Catarina Martir, Cholula, Puebla, 72820, Mexico Accurate concentration of pickling solutes assures microbial, chemical and biochemical stability of the final product and contributes to develop desirable flavor characteristics. The purpose of this study was to develop mathematical models to describe the concentration of sodium chloride and acetic acid in jalapeño pepper treated at vacuum pressure. Whole jalapeño peppers were submerged in either brines or acidified solutions at five concentration levels, in a pepper/solution ratio of 1/5 (w/w). The pepper-solution systems were subjected to a vacuum pressure of 120 mbar for five minutes. Then, the atmospheric pressure was restored and maintained during a relaxation time fixed by the experimental design. A set of experiments was run at atmospheric pressure under the same solute concentration levels. Acidity in fresh and treated pepper was determined by the AOAC method; sodium chloride concentration was measured using a salt meter Atago. Response surface methodology was employed to perform the study. The analysis of variance indicated that pickling solutes content in the pepper tissue is well correlated with relaxation time and solute concentration in the solution (p £ 0.05 and R2 > 0.96). The highest sodium chloride (9.3%) and acetic acid (2.5%) concentration levels were obtained in systems under vacuum pressure, compared to the atmospheric pressure treatments (7.5 % sodium chloride; 1.78% acetic acid). Two mathematical models were developed to determine the solution concentration and processing time leading to specific formulations for modified diets.
Session 49F, Fruit & Vegetable Products: Fresh vegetables
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