Yield, Color and Sensory Attributes of Pasteurized Watermelon Juice1

Abstract

Watermelon juice was pasteurized and held for 3 months at 2°C. Juice yields obtained from whole watermelons ranged, between 42 to 50%, depending on cultivar. Watermelon juice was pasteurized at 76.6°C for 17 s and held at 2°C for 3 months. The pasteurized juice was slightly darker but redder (higher hue) than the raw juice, even though the intensity (chroma) dropped after storage. Taste panelists rated the pasteurized juice (fresh and stored) the same as raw juice in color, appearance and sweetness indicating no loss of color, no phase separation, and no evidence of caramelization. The pasteurized juice samples were rated higher on flavor than the raw samples because of a “grassy” off‐flavor detected in the raw juice.

Effect of Thermal Treatments on Quality and Aroma of Watermelon Juice

“…Consequently, the HTST led to a significant color difference. Each treatment resulted in no significant influence on SSC of watermelon juice, which was statistically similar to recently reported results [1,22,23]. …”

“…Consequently, the UHT and LTLT well maintained the color of the pasteurized juice. Being similar to our results, the heating at 76.6 ∘ C for 17 s leads to a darker but redder juice when the taste panelists rate the pasteurized watermelon juice similarly to raw juice in color [22]. However, ΔE of the HTST was 8.27 ± 0.25 and was significantly higher than that of the UHT and LTLT.…”