Modelling textural changes of vegetables during acidification under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions

• Acidification can be used to improve the quality of canned vegetables because it can decrease thermal processing requirements. Moreover, there is some evidence that acidified vegetables retain a better texture than non-acidified ones. Optimisation of the acidification processes requires the knowledge of the relationship between texture and thermal process at low/moderate temperature. The main objective of this work was the modelling of textural changes of vegetables during acidification under isothermal conditions, and the application of the model to predict textural changes in non-isothermal processes. Turnip was the vegetable used in the experiments. The effect of pre-treatments (blanching, freezing/thawing, calcium addition and vacuum infusion of water before acidification) on the kinetics of textural changes during acidification was also studied. Turnips were acidified in acetic acid under isothermal (20, 50, 70, 80, 90 and 100°C) and non-isothermal conditions (20 to 90°C). Texture was modelled by a two subtract first order kinetic model, assuming an Arrhenius-type dependence of the rate constants on temperature. The model parameters were estimated by nonlinear regression. At temperatures lower then 70°C no significant changes in texture were detected. At higher temperatures the model showed a good fit to the data for all the conditions tested. Acidification decreased the percentage of heat labile substrate from 96% to 62%, thus improving firmness retention. The parameters of the kinetic model estimated under isothermal conditions provided an adequate prediction of texture changes under non-isothermal conditions. The methodology developed in this work can be further applied to model the textural changes of vegetables during other thermal processes, such as drying, blanching, and frying.

Subject headings

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Livsmedelsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Food Science (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Annan teknik -- Livsmedelsteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Other Engineering and Technologies -- Food Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Food Engineering

Livsmedelsteknik

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)