Peeling mechanism of tomato induced by HHAIB: Microscopic, ultrastructure, chemical, physical and mechanical properties perspectives

Yu-Hao Zhou; Sriram K Vidyarthi; Parag Prakash Sutar; Buer Ha; Qing-Hui Wang; Fa-Tao He; Ming-Qiang Xu; Wen-Qiang Zhang; Hong-Wei Xiao

doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2023.101028

Peeling mechanism of tomato induced by HHAIB: Microscopic, ultrastructure, chemical, physical and mechanical properties perspectives

Food Chem X. 2023 Nov 22:20:101028. doi: 10.1016/j.fochx.2023.101028. eCollection 2023 Dec 30.

Authors

Yu-Hao Zhou^{1

2}, Sriram K Vidyarthi³, Parag Prakash Sutar⁴, Buer Ha¹, Qing-Hui Wang⁵, Fa-Tao He⁶, Ming-Qiang Xu⁷, Wen-Qiang Zhang¹, Hong-Wei Xiao¹

Affiliations

¹ College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, P.O. Box 194, 17 Qinghua Donglu, Beijing 100083, China.
² School of Food and Strategic Reserves, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China.
³ Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁴ Department of Food Process Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Odisha 769008, India.
⁵ Agricultural Mechanization Institute, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi 830091, China.
⁶ Jinan Fruit Research Institute, All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Coorperatives, Ji'nan 250014, China.
⁷ Institute of Agro-products Storage and Processing, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.

Abstract

In order to better manage the peeling degree and avoid unnecessary losses, the current work aimed to explore the peeling mechanism of a novel peeling technology, high-humidity hot air impingement blanching (HHAIB). The relationships between HHAIB peeling performance and the changes in skin temperature, skin structure, water state, pectin fractions content, and skin mechanical properties of tomatoes were analyzed. Results showed, after HHAIB treatment, the epicuticular wax was disrupted, the skin exhibited more and longer random cracks, the degradation of inner skin tissue was observed by transmission electron microscopy, the free water percentage increased resulting in water loss in the whole tomato, the water-soluble pectin contents decreased in tomato fleshes, while the contents of chelate-soluble pectin and sodium-carbonate-soluble pectin increased. HHAIB heating reduced the elongation at break, and increased Young's Modulus of tomato peel. This study revealed the HHAIB peeling mechanism and provided new insights for developing HHAIB peeling technology.

Keywords: Microstructure; Pectin contents; Peeling; Ultrastructure; Water state; Young's Modulu.