Effect of dense phase carbon dioxide treatment on physicochemical and textural properties of pickled carrot

Abstract

Dense phase carbon dioxide (DPCD), as a new type of non-thermal technologies, has exhibited a remarkable effect on sterilization to improve the quality of many fruits and vegetables, but little known on the pickled carrot. In this study, the effect of DPCD treatment on physicochemical, textural properties and microbiological quality of pickled carrot treatment was investigated. Our results showed that the optimum condition of DPCD treatment was 30 min under 20 Mpa. Compared with thermal treatment, the DPCD treatment significantly improved the storage quality of the pickled carrot at hardness, color, and β-carotene content. Moreover, DPCD treatment increased the total pectin content and reduced the water-soluble pectin content of the pickled carrot without changing the pectin structures and cell-wall composition. Taken together, our study showed that DPCD is a comprehensive technique to improve the quality of the carrot in pickles processing.

Keywords

• dense phase carbon dioxide
• pickled carrot
• quality
• pectin