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EFFECT OF MICROWAVE POWER LEVEL AND TIME ON ASCORBIC ACID CONTENT, PEROXIDASE ACTIVITY AND COLOR OF SELECTED VEGETABLES
Author(s) -
BREWER M. S.,
BEGUM S.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of food processing and preservation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.511
H-Index - 48
eISSN - 1745-4549
pISSN - 0145-8892
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-4549.2003.tb00527.x
Subject(s) - ascorbic acid , blanching , peroxidase , chemistry , food science , moisture , microwave , water content , biochemistry , enzyme , organic chemistry , physics , geotechnical engineering , quantum mechanics , engineering
The objective of these studies was to evaluate the effects of blanching at various microwave power levels (30%, 55%, 70%, 100%) for times (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 min) on peroxidase inactivation, and ascorbic acid and color preservation in broccoli, green beans and asparagus. As power level and time increased, moisture losses increased. Actual ascorbic acid concentration (mg/100 g) increased, but when adjusted for moisture loss, it decreased. Microwave treatment at any power level for as little as 1 min reduced peroxidase activity. However, at higher powers (70% and 100%), less time was required to achieve the maximum reduction. Microwave heating at 70% or 100% caused some darkening (decreased L* value). Hue angle decreased (less green) at 55 %, 70% and 100% power after 1 min of treatment. Overall, microwave power level and time had greater effects on moisture, RAA content and on peroxidase activity than on color.