The effect of blanching on texture and color of frozen young coconut meat

Abstract

Brown color is one of the defects usually found in frozen young coconut. Appropriate treatment is consequently necessary to preserve the product quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of blanching on enzymatic browning inhibition of frozen young coconut meat. The blanching temperature of young coconut meat prior freezing was varied at 85, 90 and 95°C, each of which completed within 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 min, respectively. The freezing temperature was -30°C using air-blast freezer. The treated samples were evaluated for peroxidase activity, polyphenol oxidase activity, whiteness index, firmness and sensory acceptability. It was found that blanching temperatures of 90°C accomplished within 5 min were sufficient to inactivate enzymatic browning activities while texture and color of the frozen young coconut meat were reasonably preserved after thawing.