Effects of Electrical Pretreatments on the Yield and Quality Characteristics of Red Bell Pepper Puree

Abstract

AbstractElectrical treatments, which are among the nonthermal preservation technologies, have been gaining importance with the changes in the preferences of consumers who want high quality foods. In this study, electroplasmolysis (EP) as a pretreatment and microwave (MW) heating as an alternative to traditional heating were used in the production of red pepper puree in order to increase the puree yield and improve the quality characteristics of the puree. The red pepper purees were treated by EP, conventional heating (CH) as the control and also combinations of treatments (EP + MW, EP + CH). The EP application was optimized using response surface methodology. The optimum conditions were found as a voltage gradient of 143 V/cm and a treatment time of 60 s. At this optimum point, the yield was found to be 76.3%. In the combination of the EP and MW groups, the yield increased by 7.56% compared with the control group. The pectin and vitamin C contents increased after the pretreatments when compared to the control group.Practical ApplicationsElectrical treatments are used as an alternative to traditional food processing techniques. Electroplasmolysis (EP) application provides an increased permeability of the plant tissues. This benefit can be used in the production of fruit and vegetable juice or puree. Yield is so important especially on the industrial scale. EP and microwave applications increased the yield and also the quality of the red bell pepper puree, and as a result, these methods are useful for food processing technology.