Texture of pureed fruit and vegetable
foods
M Colin-Henrion,1
G Cuvelier2 and CMGC Renard3,*
1Laboratoire GRAPPE, Ecole
Supérieure d’Agriculture
d’Angers, Rue Rabelais, Angers F-49007, France
2UMR1211 Science de l’Aliment
et de l’Emballage, AgroParisTech, CNAM, INRA, F-91300 Massy, France
3UMR 408 Sécurité et Qualité des Produits d’Origine Végétale, INRA, Université d’Avignon, F-84000 Avignon, France
Abstract
Purpose of review: There has been in the recent
years a renewal of interest in the texture of pureed plant foods, in
particular, with a more widespread application of shear-thinning
rheological models and their use beyond the more classical commodities
(tomato, potato). This review provides an overview of
these models and identifies in which manner the more recent works (roughly
2000-2007) complete or enhance our understanding of these products.
Recent findings: Transgenic tomatoes have been
used to better understand the effects of processing on serum viscosity
(pectolytic enzymes) and have given intriguing results on the factors of
cell-cell adhesion. Due to the development of convenience foods, the impact
of freeze/thaw cycles on texture and syneresis
has been studied. Alternative technologies have received little attention,
except isostatic high pressure. As pectolytic
enzymes have proved to be rather resistant to pressure inactivation, HPP
appears to be of limited practical interest so far. Remarkably, few
articles have addressed the consumer and his perception of the texture of
pureed foods.
Directions for future research: Fundamental advances are needed
to help understand inhomogeneous flow behaviour and the response at the
tissue and molecular levels of fruits/vegetables during processing. Better
descriptions of steady flow and dynamic rheological behaviours and of the
impact of freeze/thaw cycles can be useful for the food processing
industry.
Keywords: shear-thinning, yield stress, rheology,
suspension, particles, cell walls, pectin, starch, processing, heating,
freezing, tomato, potato
*Correspondence
to: Dr.
Catherine Renard, INRA, UMR A 408 "Sécurité et Qualité des Produits d'Origine Végétale", Domaine
St Paul, 84914 Avignon cédex 09, France. Tel: +33 (0)4 3272 2528; Fax: +33 (0) 4
3272 2492;
email: catherine.renard@avignon.inra.fr
Stewart
Postharvest Review 2007, 5:3
Published
online 01 October 2007
doi: 10.2212/spr.2007.5.3
