Effect of electromagnetic field‐assisted freezing on improving the stability of lemon juice after thawing

Abstract

This study aims to reduce the production of flocculent material and stratification of lemon juice during freezing and thawing, using electric or magnetic fields to assist with the freezing of lemon juice. This study investigated the effect of 10–30 kV/cm electric field (EF) and 2–10 mT magnetic field (MF) on the quality of frozen lemon juice. Electromagnetic field treatment can shorten the freezing time and reduce its particle size, resulting in a lower polymer dispersion index and lower enzyme activity, thus improving its cloud stability. When the EF strength was 20 kV/cm and the MF strength was 6 mT, it resulted in the highest cloud stability, which increased by 15.50 and 16.95%, respectively. In addition, we studied the effect of electromagnetic fields on the physico‐chemical properties and bioactive components of lemon juice. The results showed that it did not affect its bioactive compounds activity and antioxidant activity, and did not cause loss of lemon juice flavor. The electromagnetic field treatment improved the quality of the juice and can be used as a potential novel processing technology for fruit juices.Practical ApplicationsThis study provides a simple and novel method to improve the stability of frozen lemon juice after thawing. The use of physical fields such as electric and magnetic field treatments to assist in freezing lemon juice improves the stability of lemon juice after thawing and provides a new method to improve the quality of fruit juice products.