Minimally processed Papaya (Carica papaya) fortified with calcium by vacuum impregnation.

Authors

Castillo Martínez, Williams Esteward

Espíritu Zavaleta, Junior Anderson

Sánchez de la Cruz, Luis Raffael

Bustamante Sigueñas, Danny Adolfo

Símpalo López, Wilson Daniel

Miñan Olivos, Guillermo Segundo

Abstract

The effect of vacuum pressure (-100, -200 and -300 millimeters Mercury) and impregnation time (5, 10 and 15 minutes) on the fortification of minimally processed papaya with calcium was evaluated sensorially with a 9-point hedonic scale, in addition, the diffusion coefficient of calcium in papaya was determined. The physicochemical characterization of papaya (Carica papaya) was: Humidity in kg H2O/100 kg sample (91.8±0.15), Brix (7.04±0.09), pH (5.20±0.02), Titratable acidity (0. 10±0.02), Color (L=65.57±0.22, a= 4.55±0.13 and b= 54.78±0.12), Firmness in Newton (15.55±0.31), and Calcium content in mg Ca/100 gr fruit (41.65±0.09). The effective porosity was determined in different forms: cylinder, coin and cube, obtaining that the coin form (2cm x 1cm) reached 13.12 %. Subsequently, vacuum impregnation was carried out at -200 mm Hg, 5 min of impregnation (compression) and 10 min of expansion, obtaining 159.87 mg Ca/100 g papaya, representing 32% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI), with a diffusion coefficient of 8.87x10-9 m2/s according to the Hydrodynamic Mechanism model. The sensory analysis of flavor, color and odor, showed that there is no significant difference, at α = 5 %, between the control papaya versus the one impregnated with calcium; regarding texture, the papaya with treatment obtained a better score; likewise, it showed better conservation characteristics in refrigerated storage during 15 days of evaluation.