Influence of Raw Material Stabilization on the Quality of Celery (Apium graveolens L.) Leaves

• Published in: Acta horticulturae no. 877; pp. 201 - 208
• Main Authors: Roslon, W, Osinska, E, Gajc-Wolska, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2010
• Subjects: Apium graveolens; ascorbic acid; carotenoids; celeriac; celery; chlorophyll; cultivars; dried vegetables; drying; essential oils; flavonoids; food composition; food quality; freezing; frozen vegetables; harvest date; leaves; polyphenols; raw vegetables; spices; vitamin content
• ISSN: 0567-7572
• DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2010.877.20

Celery (Apium graveolens L.) is a perennial vegetable plant. Due to its taste, odour and dietetic values, leaves and roots have been used in Polish cuisine for a long time. Lately, owing to a growth of popularity of green spices, high attention is paid to above-ground celery organs. The objects of the presented investigations were leaves from two cultivar varieties of celery: 'Safir' - a leaf variety and 'Jabłkowy' - a celeriac variety. Leaves were collected in two terms: at the beginning of August and the end of September. Fresh leaves contained on average: 6.67 mg·g-1 chlorophyll, 2.60 mg·100 g-1 carotenoids, 104.90 mg% vitamin C, 0.015% polyphenolic acids, 0.085% flavonoids and 0.49 ml·100 g-1 essential oil. Freezing and drying caused decreasing content of both assimilation pigments and vitamin C in investigated raw material, and increasing content of polyphenolic acids. Freezing decreased the content of essential oil and flavonoids while drying increased the content of these compounds in comparison with fresh raw material.