Effect of Blanching on Citrus Peeling Performance and Citrus Peel Microstructure
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Abstract:
Citrus reticulata was used as the raw material to investigate the effects of different blanching temperatures and times on peeling performance by measuring mechanical properties, including whole fruit puncture force and tensile strength, and the microstructures of wax layer and albedo layers. The sensory evaluation of peeled citrus fruits (aroma, taste, and the coverage of albedo layers) and the physicochemical properties including solids content, reducing sugar content, titratable acid content, and vitamin C (Vc) content were used to quantitatively determine the optimum blanching method. The results showed that different blanching conditions led to different mechanical properties of citrus peel. The appropriate blanching conditions reduced the whole fruit puncture force and enhanced the tensile strength by changing the morphology of the tissues in the citrus pericarp wax layer and the cellulose-pectin intertwined structure in the albedo layer. The citrus blanched at 85 ℃ for 70 s had a relatively low whole fruit puncture force (8.68±0.04 N), but an enhanced tensile strength (0.18±0.05 MPa). In addition, the aroma and taste improved and albedo layer coverage decreased significantly, thus enhancing peeling performance. Therefore, blanching can enhance citrus peeling performance by influencing mechanical properties and microscopic structure of the citrus peel.
