Effect of Freezing Rate and Microwave Thawing on Texture and Microstructural Properties of Potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Abstract

Food freezing is a preservation process that works by lowering temperature while simultaneously decreasing water activity. It is accepted that although freezing preserves foods, it generally has a negative effect on textural quality. This research investigated the texture response of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum) as a function of time to freeze (defined as the time for the center temperature to reach -20 °C) and thawing process. Potatoes slices (6 mm) were blanched then frozen in an ethanol/carbon dioxide bath, a pilot scale high velocity air freezer (HVAF) and a still air freezer to achieve various times to freeze. Slices were stabilized at -20 °C and thawed by 2 methods; room temperature air and microwave. Afterwards, samples were allowed to come to room temperature prior to texture profile analysis (TPA). Results indicate a maximum texture loss of the potato was reached at a time to freeze of approximately 8 min (corresponding to the HVAF). The texture difference between room temperature and microwave thawing methods was not shown to be significant (P = 0.05). SEM images showed the cellular structure of the potato in a HVAF to be similar to that of the still air freezer, validating that the matrix was maximally damaged in both conditions. This work created a continuous quality loss model for the potato as a function of time to freeze and showed no textural benefit to high velocity over still air freezing.

Effects of different thawing methods on conformation and oxidation of myofibrillar protein from largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

“…There are various thawing methods in frozen food (Cai, Cao, Regenstein, & Cao, 2019), such as the traditional thawing techniques, which mainly include air/water thawing, refrigerator thawing (Zhang et al, 2017), and microwave thawing (MT) (Llave, Mori, Kambayashi, Fukuoka & Sakai, 2016, Phinney, Frelka, Wickramasinghe, & Heldman, 2017, as well as the nonthermal food processing techniques, such as oscillatory magnetic field thawing, high-pressure thawing (Backi, 2018), pulsed electric fields thawing, and so on (Mousakhani-Ganjeh, Hamdami, & Soltanizadeh, 2015). Each thawing method has its advantages or disadvantages in the thawing process.…”

Evaluation of the effects of immersion thawing methods on quality of blueberries

“…Ten replicates were generated for each treatment in a room, with 20 ± 2°C and 45% relative humidity (RH), where samples were equilibrated to ambient conditions for 2 hr (Soazo, Pérez, Rubiolo, & Verdini, 2015). During TPA test, six parameters were studied: firmness, as the maximum force required to break the sample (the peak force of the first compression, g); springiness, as the extent to which food recovers; cohesiveness, as internal adhesion in samples; gumminess, as hardness × cohesiveness (g), chewiness as gumminess × springiness (g); and resilience, as a product fight to regain its original position (Phinney, Frelka, Wickramasinghe, & Heldman, 2017).…”

Correlation between physical properties and freshness of chilled mutton in China

“…Eight texture parameters (frangibility, hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, adhesiveness, resilience, chewiness, and gumminess) were obtained from the curve. The definitions of the texture parameters and their performance in the TPA curve are listed in Table 1 ( Phinney, Frelka, Wickramasinghe, & Heldman, 2017).…”