Relaxation characteristics for quality evaluation of Chinese cabbage

Abstract

Static rheological behaviors of Chinese cabbage have rarely been reported, and the quality are still mostly assessed by empirical methods. This study mainly aimed explore the feasibility of using relaxation characteristics to nondestructively evaluate the cabbage quality. Intact Chinese cabbages (Brassica pekinensis L.) were subjected to comprehensive stress relaxation tests and evaluation under storage conditions (at 10 ± 1 °C, 85 ± 2% RH). The five-element Maxwell models (R2 > 0.99) were applied to effectively describe the relaxation behaviors of cabbages. Among the parameters of the relaxation model, the values in the first component were significantly higher than those values in the second component. Maxwell model parameters were correlated well with the quality parameters of cabbage. Meanwhile, the firmness, SSC, and crude fiber content could be effectively predicted by relaxation parameters, with the exception of VC content and moisture content. The predictive models of quality properties were effectively validated by t-test and multi-linear regression methods. The results corroborated the relationship between relaxation characteristics and quality properties, which indicated that the stress relaxation test was a feasible and nondestructive method to evaluate and predict the quality properties for Chinese cabbage.