Abstract:To observe the changes in the quality of green pepper during Chinese cooking and food delivery processes and to determine the optimal delivery time, variations of green pepper quality before and after cooking as well as after 1, 15, 30, and 45 min of simulated delivery were studied. Green pepper was used as the raw material and the procedure to prepare a Chinese dish, “Hupi–pepper”, was the cooking method. The results showed that compared with the fresh sample, the cooked sample did not show significant changes on Vc content after 1 min of cooking, while the total phenolic content and antioxidant ability significantly increased. Good sensory and nutritional quality could be maintained after the sample was allowed to stand for 15 min. The sensory score was still higher than 3 points after the sample was allowed to stand for 45 min, and the overall sensory quality was acceptable. However, the nutritional quality decreased to some extent. After the sample was allowed to stand for 45 min, the sensory score was less than 3 points, the sensory quality was not acceptable, and the nutrition quality did not change significantly compared to that of the 30-min sample. Therefore, it was found that if the dish was consumed immediately after cooking, there was no significant loss of Vc content in green pepper, and total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were significantly increased, thus, favoring the nutrient intakes. A delivery within 30 min can ensure a relatively good sensory quality of green pepper and a high level of nutrients can be maintained. Therefore, it is recommended that the delivery time for the dishes with green pepper as the raw material should not be longer than 30 min.
