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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #317817
Research Project: New Sustainable Processing Technologies to Produce Healthy, Value-Added Foods from Specialty Crops

Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research

Title: Effect of simultaneous infrared dry-blanching and dehydration on quality characteristics of carrot slices

Author
item WU, BENGANG - Jiangsu University
item Pan, Zhongli
item QU, WENJUAN - Jiangsu University
item WANG, BEI - Jiangsu University
item WANG, JUAN - Jiangsu University
item MA, HAILE - Jiangsu University

Submitted to: LWT - Food Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/30/2015
Publication Date: 9/15/2015
Citation: Wu, B., Pan, Z., Qu, W., Wang, B., Wang, J., Ma, H. 2015. Effect of simultaneous infrared dry-blanching and dehydration on quality characteristics of carrot slices. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 57:90-98.

Interpretive Summary: This study revealed that the processing parameters of simultaneous infrared dry-blanching and dehydration (SIRDBD), including the slice thickness and surface temperature, showed significant effects on the process characteristics and product quality of carrot slices. Based on the obtained results, appropriate processing conditions of SIRDBD have been recommended to blanch and partially or fully dehydrate carrot slices. The research suggests that SIRDBD could be a promising alternative to the current blanching and dehydration methods for preparing high-quality blanched and partially or fully dehydrated carrots.

Technical Abstract: This study investigated the effects of various processing parameters on carrot slices exposed to infrared (IR) radiation heating for achieving simultaneous infrared dry-blanching and dehydration (SIRDBD). The investigated parameters were product surface temperature, slice thickness and processing time. A three factor factorial design was conducted to determine the influence of processing parameters on moisture reduction, drying rate, residual peroxidase (POD) activities, surface color change and vitamin C retention. High surface temperature and/or thin slices had faster inactivation of enzymes and quicker moisture removal compared to the low surface temperature and/or thick slices. A Middili model performed well for describing drying behavior during the treatment, while a biphasic model and a quantic model fit well for describing the POD inactivation and the surface color change during the process, respectively. The process which produced 1 log reduction in POD activity has resulted in moisture reduction from 40.2 to 88.8 g/100 g, overall color change (DE) from 3.17 to 5.13 and retention of vitamin C from 56.92 to 77.34 g/ 100 g compared to control. It was concluded that SIRDBD could be used as an alternative to produce high quality blanched and partially dehydrated fruits and vegetables.