Vol. 7, Issue 2 (2019)
Changes in quality of microwave blanched vegetables: A Review
Author(s): Meenakshi Trilokia, Monika Sood, Julie D Bandral, Shafia Ashraf and Mehnaza Manzoor
Abstract: Blanching is a heat treatment widely applied in the agro-food sector and particularly important in the processing of green vegetables. It increases the shelf life of fruits and canned food. The main objectives of blanching are: to inactivate the enzymes, prevent possible deterioration reactions, off-flavours and undesirable changes in colour; to reduce microbial load and to soften tissues to obtain products with specific texture. There are different types of blanching. Currently, hot water blanching is commercially adopted blanching method as it is simple and easy to implement. However, consumes large amount of water. In addition, water-soluble nutrients, such as vitamins, flavours, minerals, carbohydrates, sugars, and proteins, can leach out into the blanching water. As a further consequence, lowers somewhat the mass of vegetables thus process profitability can be affected by overtreatment. To mitigate those shortcomings, several novel blanching technologies have been developed and reported, e.g., Microwave blanching. It is considered as a dry technique, the volume of wastewater generated could be diminished and therefore losses of water-soluble nutrients could be minimized. It allows for efficient heat transfer, effectively inactivates deteriorative enzymes, better green colour retention. Microwave-blanched vegetables retain nutrients and provides better quality.
Pages: 732-737 | 628 Views 147 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
Meenakshi Trilokia, Monika Sood, Julie D Bandral, Shafia Ashraf, Mehnaza Manzoor. Changes in quality of microwave blanched vegetables: A Review. Int J Chem Stud 2019;7(2):732-737.