Colour content and stability in red pepper as affected by cultivar, harvest time, and titanium spray

Abstract

Paprika is one of the oldest and most important food colourants; its quality may be affected by cultivar, maturity, and processing. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of harvest time, variety, and application of a biological activity inductor (Ti 4+ -ascorbate) on fruit yield and quality of spice red pepper. The influence of drying and grinding operations on quality parameters and thermo- and photostabilities of ground paprika during storage were also studied. Our results demonstrated that the Spanish cultivar, Albar, is the best of all studied pepper varieties due to the following factors: a) high fruit productivity, b) high fruit quality (total extractable red colour and red/yellow pigments ratio), c) high quality of processed spice red pepper, and d) high thermo- and photostabilities. Besides the cultivar selection, fruits from the first harvest showed the best quality parameters and if possible they should be used for paprika processing. The application of titanium ascorbate significantly improved fruit yield, fruit quality and ground paprika photostability during its storage; this is, therefore, a treatment that could help farmers and paprika manufacturers to improve their benefits, and consumers to find a food colourant of better quality.