Water blanching conditions on the quality of green asparagus butt segment (Asparagus officinalis L.)

• Published in: Materials today : proceedings Vol. 18; pp. 4799 - 4809
• Main Authors: Van Linh Nguyen, Thi, Thanh Vo, Tan, Duc Lam, Tri, Giang Bach, Long
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2019
• Subjects: Asparagus butt segment; Free-radical scavenging ability; Sensory values; Water blanching; Water blanching; Free-radical scavenging ability; Asparagus butt segment; Sensory values
• ISSN: 2214-7853; 2214-7853
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2019.07.468

The butt segment of asparagus contains numerous nutrients, including various antioxidants. In particular, fibers and several mineral contents are quite high. However, asparagus butt segment quality is reduced in processing. Therefore, research on the asparagus butt segment processing for development of food industry and for the benefit of economic is necessary. Water blanching is a pretreatment method applied in most fruit and vegetable industry today. Water blanching process can inhibit enzyme activity and reduce loss of food quality. However, water blanching can lead to loss of nutrient contents as well as changes in color and texture (sensory values). In this study, the temperature was investigated at 70°C, 75°C, 80°C, 85°C, and 90°C, and the blanching time was observed at 2, 4, 6, and 8 minutes. We evaluated the effect of blanching conditions through the percent retention of vitamin C, phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity (DPPH assay), and changes of sensory values. The results show that blanching temperatures from 75°C to 85°C insignificantly affect quality of asparagus butt segment. However, nutrient contents and sensory values decrease rapidly with the increase of blanching time. When asparagus was blanched at 85°C for 4 minutes, the percent retention of vitamin C, phenolic and antioxidant capacity was 74.84% 80.34% and 71.24%, respectively. These results suggested the good blanching conditions for asparagus butt segment processing..