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Effect of storage temperature and size of stalks on quality of minimally processed leeks
Author(s) -
Tsouvaltzis Pavlos,
Gerasopoulos Dimitrios,
Siomos Anastasios S
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2350
Subject(s) - stalk , horticulture , significant difference , chemistry , botany , zoology , biology , mathematics , statistics
Minimally processed leek stalks were produced by trimming of freshly harvested leeks ( Allium porrum L.) to sizes of 0–22, 0–11 and 11–22 cm. Trimmed stalks were then stored at 0, 10 and 20 °C in air for 8 days to determine the effects of temperature and stalk size on quality during storage, including inner leaf growth, fresh weight loss and discoloration. Both inner leaf growth and fresh weight loss were increased linearly with storage duration. Growth of cut leek inner leaves was significantly reduced to 4 mm at the end of 0 °C storage in all three types of cut stalks. Inner leaf growth was maximized during storage at 10 and 20 °C in 0–11 cm stalks, medium in 0–22 cm stalks and minimal in 11–22 cm stalks. Fresh weight loss of 0–11 cm size was significantly higher than that of 0–22 cm size at both 0 and 10 °C, whereas there was no difference between 0–11 and 11–22 cm sizes. At 10 and 20 °C the 0–11 cm size lost more weight than the 11–22 and 0–22 cm ones. Differences in color attributes were observed in most cases between stalk sizes, due to different coloration of intact leeks. Discoloration was observed particularly at the stalk base at 20 °C. Low temperatures effectively control discoloration, and reduce considerably inner leaf growth of minimally processed leeks, but do not control it. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry