36E-100 |
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M. Gonzalez-Martinez, Food Science and Technology Department, Instituto Tecnologico de Merida, Km. 5 Carretera Merida-Progreso, Merida, Yucatan, 97118, Mexico, L. Latournerie, Instituto Tecnologico Agropecuario 2, Conkal, Conkal, Conkal, Yucatan, Mexico, and E. SAURI-DUCH, Food Science and Technology Department, Insituto Tecnologico de Merida, Km. Carr. Merida-Progreso. Mérida, Yucatan, Merida, 97118, Mexico. Mexico relies on a great variety of chiles, among them the habanero chile pepper,(Capsicum chinense, Jacq.) is very important for the economy of Yucatan, but its shelf life is relatively short. It is exported fresh and industrialized. Refrigeration is an important alternative to preserve the quality of horticultural products. In this work the effect of storage temperature on quality and shelf life of habahero chile peppers was evaluated. Unripe habanero chiles were harvested. They were stored at 7 and 12º C in bags of perforated polyethilene during 35 days. After 2, 7, 20 and 35 days of storage, representative samples (5 bags of each temperature)were taken and allowed to ripen at 22° C. Main characteristics of quality were evaluated after 2, 5 and 15 days of ripening. Characteristics evaluated were general appearance, loss of weight, acidity, vitamin C, firmness, color of the skin and content of total capsaicinoids. Habanero chile peppers stored in perforated bags and conserved in refrigeration at 7º C incremented their shelf life from 10 up to 25 days at 22º C, reaching normal orange color, and similar values of acidity and vitamin C than habanero chiles stored without refrigeration. During storage at 12º C habanero chile pepper continued ripening, but at a slower rate than at room temperature, changing its color from green to typical orange. Storage at 4º C produced damage to habanero chile peppers from chilling. It is possible to increase shelf life of habanero chile pepper by packing them in polyethilene bags and storing them at 7º C.
Session 36E, Fruit & Vegetable Products: General
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |