EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FOOD PRESERVATION TREATMENTS ON ENZYME ACTIVITY, MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR AND/OR COLOR OF VEGETAL TISSUE

GERSCHENSON L. N.; ROJAS A. M.; DE ESCALADA PLÁ M. F.; LATORRE M. E.

FOOD ENGINEERING

Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Lugar: Hauppauge, New York.; Año: 2010; p. 341 - 359

Texture and color are major quality attributes of plant-based foods. Texture lies in a ?mechanical unit? whose components are cell wall, cellular membrane or plasmalemma and middle lamella. Color lies in the presence of pigments compartmentalized into the cells, which selectively absorb certain wavelengths of light while reflecting others. The application of different stress factors for food preservation purposes can alter enzymatic activity and can affect texture and color, compromising consumer acceptability of resultant food products. In this chapter, the effect on the activity of some enzymes, textural behavior and color changes, of the osmotic treatment of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and butternut (Cucurbita moschata, Duch. ex. Poiret) or of the gamma irradiation of red beet (Beta vulgaris L. var. conditiva) or of the blanching of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa, A. Chev.), is analyzed.