Heat treatment and microwave applications on homemade sour cherry juice: The effect on anthocyanin content and some physicochemical properties

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different treatments applied on the anthocyanin content and some physicochemical properties of homemade sour cherry juice. Titration acidity, pH, color, total monomeric anthocyanin content, polymeric color, color density, polymeric color ratio, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity properties and formation of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) were investigated by heat treatment (70–75 °C), boiling (90–95 °C) and microwave application at 2450 MHz, 400 W power. When the results were evaluated, all treatments and treatment time did not make a statistical difference on color values, total monomeric anthocyanin content, color intensity, polymeric color ratio and antioxidant activity of the samples (p˃0.05). The microwave application caused a significant change in the amount of phenolic substance (p˂0.05) and had the highest phenolic substance content. In addition, it was observed that HMF formation was at the lowest level in sour cherry juices obtained by microwave application. As a result, while the bioactive components are significantly preserved in microwave-produced homemade sour cherry juice, HMF formation occurs at a lower level compared to conventional methods, resulting in higher quality products in terms of food safety.