Abstract
Persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.f.) crop has markedly increased in Spain, and “Rojo Brillante” persimmon is the main cultivated variety. This astringent cultivar requires de-astringency treatment before commercialization, which may involve an extra cost. Its short commercial season implies handling large volumes of fruits with consequent postharvest losses. Therefore, the development of derived added-value products is of much interest. In this study, astringent and non-astringent “Rojo Brillante” persimmons were dehydrated by following a natural drying method used in Asia. The drying kinetics and physico-chemical properties were analyzed for 81 days. The results indicated subsequent reductions in weight, water content, and water activity throughout the drying process, and the equatorial diameter decreased. All the employed thin-layer mathematical models were suitable for representing the drying characteristics of both products with similar behavior. The effective water diffusivity values were 5.07 × 10−11 m2 s−1 and 6.07 × 10−11 m2 s−1 for astringent and non-astringent persimmon samples, respectively. The drying treatment significantly decreased the soluble tannins content, and the astringent samples obtained similar values to those obtained for the non-astringent samples in 20 days. The external and internal flesh of the astringent fruit remained orange through the drying period, while brown coloration in the non-astringent fruit was observed after 57 drying days. Therefore, prior de-astringency treatment would not be necessary.
Highlights
In Spain, persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.f.) production has markedly increased over the last 20 years, and the cultivation area has expanded almost 8-fold, from about 2253 ha in 2002 to over 18,000 ha in 2019
“Rojo Brillante” is an astringent persimmon cultivar, which involves its presenting high soluble tannins at harvest [2] and, the postharvest de-astringency treatment is required before commercialization
The Spanish production is mainly destined for exportation markets where there is a demand for persimmon as fresh fruit with a firm texture according to the current quality standards (UNECE 2016) [5]
Summary
In Spain, persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.f.) production has markedly increased over the last 20 years, and the cultivation area has expanded almost 8-fold, from about 2253 ha in 2002 to over 18,000 ha in 2019. The introduction of postharvest techniques based on exposing the fruit to high CO2 concentrations to eliminate astringency has been one of the main causes of the expansion of persimmon production in Spain in recent years. With this de-astringency method, it is possible to obtain a fruit without astringency while preserving a firm texture [3,4]. The Spanish production is mainly destined for exportation markets where there is a demand for persimmon as fresh fruit with a firm texture according to the current quality standards (UNECE 2016) [5]. One of the current challenges for the persimmon industry is the search for strategies that increase the value of the discarded fruit
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