Open AccessEffect of steam blanching on peelability and quality of Citrus reticulata Blanco
Author(s) -
Xian Shao,
Hong Chen,
Haibing Pan,
Mark A. Ritenour,
Cuifeng Hu,
Qinchao Xu,
Xiulan Bao
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of food science and technology/journal of food science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.656
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 0975-8402
pISSN - 0022-1155
DOI - 10.1007/s13197-020-04839-y
Subject(s) - blanching , chemistry , food science , steam explosion , superheated steam , pulp and paper industry , horticulture , waste management , boiler (water heating) , biology , engineering
Peeling of citrus fruits is the key procedure in the production of citrus products such as canned citrus and citrus vinegar. In order to facilitate this peeling process, Citrus reticulata Blanco is usually heated. The treatments of steam blanching and air cooling were carried out in the citrus peeling experiment. The anatomical details of citrus peel were also observed after steam blanching. The results indicated that the duration of steam blanching had a significant influence on peelability of Citrus reticulata Blanco ( P < 0.01). With the proceeding of steam blanching, the maximum stripping force and the maximum stripping length of the citrus peel decreased. Two minutes after steam blanching, parenchyma cell structure and vascular elements were destroyed. The duration of cooling treatment has no significant impact on the peelability of the citrus ( P > 0.05). The content of titratable acid, total soluble solid and vitamin C were considerably influenced by steam blanching. When steam blanching duration was within 2 min, the color change ∆E ij was less than 3.0, indicating no significant color change. This study determined 2 min to be the optimal steam blanching duration for achieving the best peelability and quality of peeled citrus, and 5 min or less to be optimal cooling duration. Overall, this study provides a theoretical guideline for the application of the steam blanching treatment in the citrus production.