Edible flowers, such as pansies, have a short shelf-life. Crystallization is a treatment used to prolong the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables. So, the aim of the present work was to investigate the effect of crystallization in the physicochemical, microbial and antioxidant properties of pansies (Viola×wittrockiana) during room temperature storage (7, 15, 30, 60 and 90 days). Comparing fresh and crystallized pansies, significant differences were detected. After 90 days of storage, crystallized pansies kept similar appearance to those immediately after treatment. A significant decrease in water activity, moisture, ash and protein contents was observed between 0 and 90 days of storage for crystallized pansies. Some bioactive compounds, such as flavonoids and monomeric anthocyanins, showed a significant decrease after 90 days of storage, while hydrolysable tannins increased. Concerning phenolic compounds, these maintained constant along storage. The microbial load of crystallized pansies during all storage time was lower than fresh ones. So, crystallization can be an effective method for pansies preservation, being some nutritional and bioactive compounds, little affected during storage. However, crystallization contributed to a high increase in sugar content and energy values compared to fresh pansies.
Keywords: Edible flowers; antioxidant activity; bioactive compounds; crystallization; microbial quality; nutritional composition; storage.