Effect of pre-treatments on qualitative characteristics of osmotically dehydrated apple
1Department of Food Science and Technology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 2Punjab Horticultural Postharvest Technology Centre, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 3Department of Livestock Products Technology, GADVASU, Ludhiana. Corresponding e-mail: omarcellan@mdp.edu.ar; marcellan.olga@inta.gob.ar
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2022.v24i01.09
Key words: Osmo-drying, apple cubes, Malus domestica , Golden Delicious, color, texture, pre-treatments
Abstract: The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of various pre-treatments viz., potassium sorbate (T2), steam process (T3) and rose-flavored syrup (T4) compared to control (T1) on the final quality of osmo-dried apple cubes. Osmo-dried apple cubes developed from each treatment had moisture content in the range of 7.3-8.6% with 0.55-0.66 water activity. Pre-treatments proved to be effective on the product as bioactive components and antioxidant activity (%) were maximally retained in rose flavored apple cubes except ascorbic acid. Higher reducing sugars were observed in steam-treated apple cubes and lowest in rose-flavored apple cubes. In terms of colour attributes, potassium sorbate-treated apple cubes retained the most brightness, but texturally, these samples had the most hardness and the least cohesiveness. In contrast, steam-treated apple cubes had the lowest hardness and highest cohesiveness. The highest overall acceptability was noted for rose-flavored apple cubes in sensory properties. Red coloration of these apple cubes resulted in reduced L and highest a values with optimum textural properties. Overall, rose-flavored syrup as an osmotic agent produced flavoured dried apple cubes of improved quality.
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