Effect of processing conditions on calcium content, firmness and color of papaya in syrup

NANCY LOVERA; LAURA A. RAMALLO; VIVIANA O. SALVADORI

Journal of Food Processing

Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Lugar: New York; Año: 2014 vol. 2014 p. 100 - 108

2356-7384

Calcium impregnation is used as a pretreatment in the processing of papaya in syrup. The effect of process temperature (30 and 45∘C), calcium source (calcium gluconate and calciumlactate), calciumconcentration (0.5 and 1.5% w/w), and pH (4.2 and 6) were studied. The mineral source affected significantly the calcium uptake and the fruit firmness, and therefore, the product quality maximum content of calcium in the fruit was 240 and 72mg/100g fresh fruit in 8h of treatment with calcium lactate and calcium gluconate, respectively. Greater firmness was observed in samples impregnated with calcium lactate. Impregnation treatments did not affect the surface color of fruit. Finally, the effect of cooking in sucrose syrup on product quality attributes (calcium retention, firmness, and color) was analyzed. Cooking in syrup had a positive effect on tissue firmness, despite the decrease of calcium content. During cooking in syrup, calcium content of treated fruit decreased between 9% and 37%. However, the calcium content of fruit in syrup was up to 6 times higher than in fresh fruit.Moreover, the cooking stage had a strong influence on color parameters, leading to a processed product darker than fresh fruit.