Chapter 9 Vegetable specific processing technologies

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9.1 Vegetables varieties

Vegetable processors must appreciate the substantial differences that varieties of a given vegetable will possess. In addition to variety and genetic strain differences with respect to weather, insect and disease resistance, varieties of a given vegetable will differ in size, shape, time of maturity, and resistance to physical damage.

Varietal differences then further extend into warehouse storage stability, and suitability for such processing methods as canning, freezing, pickling or drying. A variety of peas that is suitable for canning may be quite unsatisfactory for freezing and varieties of potatoes that are preferred for freezing may be less satisfactory for drying or potato chip manufacture.

This should be expected since different varieties of a given vegetable will vary somewhat in chemical composition, cellular structure and biological activity of their enzyme system.

9.2 Harvesting and pre-processing

When vegetables are maturing in the field they are changing from day to day. There is a time when the vegetable will be at peak quality from the stand-point of colour, texture and flavour.

This peak quality is quick in passing and may last only a day. Harvesting and processing of several vegetables, including tomatoes, corn and peas are rigidly scheduled to capture this peak quality.

After the vegetable is harvested it may quickly pass beyond the peak quality condition. This is independent of microbiological spoilage; these main deteriorations are related to:

a) loss of sugars due to their consumption during respiration or their conversion to starch; losses are slower under refrigeration but there is still a great change in vegetable sweetness and freshness of flavour within 2 or 3 days;

b) production of heat when large stockpiles of vegetables are transported or held prior to processing.

At room temperature some vegetables will liberate heat at a rate of 127,000 kJ/ton/day; this is enough for each ton of vegetables to melt 363 kg of ice per day. Since the heat further deteriorates the vegetables and speeds micro-organisms growth, the harvested vegetables must be cooled if not processed immediately.

But cooling only slows down the rate of deterioration, it does not prevent it, and vegetables differ in their resistance to cold storage. Each vegetable has its optimum cold storage temperature which may be between about 0-100 C (32-500 F).

c) the continual loss of water by harvested vegetables due to transpiration, respiration and physical drying of cut surfaces results in wilting of leafy vegetables, loss of plumpness of fleshy vegetables and loss of weight of both.

Moisture loss cannot be completely and effectively prevented by hermetic packaging. This was tried with plastic bags for fresh vegetables in supermarkets but the bags became moisture fogged, and deterioration of certain vegetables was accelerated because of buildup of CO2 and decrease of oxygen in the package. It therefore is common to perforate such bags to prevent these defects as well as to minimise high humidity in the package which would encourage microbial growth.

Shippers of fresh vegetables and vegetable processors, whether they can, freeze, dehydrate, or manufacture soups or ketchup, appreciate the instability and perishability of vegetables and so do everything they can to minimise delays in processing of the fresh product. In many processing plants it is common practice to process vegetables immediately as they are received from the field.

To ensure a steady supply of top quality produce during the harvesting period the large food processors will employ trained field men; they will advise on growing practices and on spacing of plantings so that vegetables will mature and can be harvested in rhythm with the processing plant capabilities. This minimises stockpiling and need for storage.

Cooling of vegetables in the field is common practice in some areas. Liquid nitrogen-cooled trucks may next provide transportation of fresh produce to the processing plant or directly to market.

Upon arrival of vegetables at the processing centre the usual operations of cleaning, grading, peeling, cutting and the like are performed using a moderate amount of equipment but a good deal of hand labour also still remains.

9.2.1 Reception.

This covers qualitative and quantitative control of delivered vegetables. The organoleptic control and the evaluation of the sanitary state, even if they are very important steps in vegetables' characteristics assessment, cannot establish their technological value.

On the other hand, laboratory controls do not precisely establish their technological properties because of the difficulty in putting into showing some deterioration when using rapid control methods.

One correct method of vegetable quality appraisal is their overall evaluation based on the whole complex of data that can be obtained by combining an extensive organoleptic evaluation with simple analysis that can be performed rapidly in plant laboratory. These analysis can be:

1. refractometric extract (tomatoes, fruit, etc.);
2. specific weight (potatoes, peas, etc.);
3. consistency (measured with tenderometers, penetrometers, etc.);
4. boiling tests, etc.

9.2.2 Temporary storage.

This step should be as short as possible and better completely eliminated. Vegetables can be stored in:

1. simple stores, without artificial cooling;
2. in refrigerated stores; or, in some cases,
3. in silos (potatoes, etc.).

Simple stores should be covered, fairly cool, dry and well ventilated but without forced air circulation which can induce significant losses in weight through intensive water evaporation; air relative humidity should be at about 70-80%.

Refrigerated storage is always preferable and in all cases a processing centre needs a cold room for this purpose, adapted in volume I capacity to the types and quantities of vegetables (and fruits) that are further processed.

9.2.3 Washing.

Washing is used not only to remove field soil and surface micro-organisms but also to remove fungicides, insecticides and other pesticides, since there are laws specifying maximum levels of these materials that may be retained on the vegetable; and in most cases the allowable residual level is virtually zero. Washing water contains detergents or other sanitisers that can essentially completely remove these residues.

The washing equipment, like all equipment subsequently used, will depend upon the size, shape and fragility of the particular kind of vegetable:

• flotation cleaner for peas and other small vegetables;
• rotary washer in which vegetables are tumbled while they are sprayed with jets of water; this type of washer should not be used to clean fragile vegetables;

9.2.4 Sorting.

This step covers two separate operations:

a) removal of non-standard vegetables (and fruit) and possible foreign bodies remaining after washing;

b) quality grading based on variety, dimensional, organoleptical and maturity stage criterion.

9.2.5 Skin Removal/peeling

Some vegetables require skin removal. This can be done in various ways.

a) Mechanical

This type of operation is performed with various types of equipment which depend upon the result expected and the characteristics of the fruit and vegetables, for example:

1. a machine with abrasion device (potatoes, root vegetables);
2. equipment with knives (apples, pears, potatoes, etc.);
3. equipment with rotating sieve drums (root vegetables). Sometimes this operation is simultaneous with washing (potatoes, carrots, etc.) or preceded by blanching (carrots).

b) Chemical

Skins can be softened from the underlying tissues by submerging vegetables in hot alkali solution. Lye may be used at a concentration of about 0.5-3%, at about 93° C (2000 F) for a short time period (0.5-3 min). The vegetables with loosened skins are then conveyed under high velocity jets of water which wash away the skins and residual lye.

In order to avoid enzymatic browning, this chemical peeling is followed by a short boiling in water or an immersion in diluted citric acid solutions.

It is more difficult to peel potatoes with this method because it is necessary to dissolve the cutin and this requires more concentrated lye solutions, up to 10%.

c) Thermal

Wet heat (steam). Other vegetables with thick skins such as beets, potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes may be peeled with steam under pressure (about 10 at) as they pass through cylindrical vessels. This softens the skin and the underlying tissue. When the pressure is suddenly released, steam under the skin expands and causes the skin to puff and crack. The skins are then washed away with jets of water at high pressure (up to 12 at).

Dry heat (flame). Other vegetables such as onions and peppers are best skinned by exposing them to direct flame (about 1 min at 1000° C) or to hot gases in rotary tube flame peelers. Here too, heat causes steam to develop under skins and puff them so that they can be washed away with water.

Manual peeling only use when the other methods are impossible or sometimes as a completion of the other three ways. Average losses at this step are given in Table 9.2.1.

TABLE 9.2.1 Losses at vegetable peeling, in %

9.2.6 Size reduction.

This step is applied according to specific vegetable and processing technology requirements.

9.2.7 Blanching.

The special heat treatment to inactivate enzymes is known as blanching. Blanching is not indiscriminate heating. Too little is ineffective, and too much damages the vegetables by excessive cooking, especially where the fresh character of the vegetable is subsequently to be preserved by processing.

This heat treatment is applied according to and depends upon the specificity of vegetables, the objectives that are followed and the subsequent processing / preservation methods.

Two of the more heat resistant enzymes important in vegetables are catalase and peroxidase. If these are destroyed then the other significant enzymes in vegetables also will have been inactivated. The heat treatment to destroy catalase and peroxidase in different vegetables are known, and sensitive chemical tests have been developed to detect the amounts of these enzymes that might survive a blanching treatment. Catalase and peroxidase inactivation tests are presented in section 9.2.9.

Because various types of vegetables differ in size, shape, heat conductivity, and the natural levels of their enzymes, blanching treatments have to be established on an experimental basis. As with sterilisation of foods in cans, the larger the food item the longer it takes for heat to reach the centre. Small vegetables may be adequately blanched in boiling water in a minute or two, large vegetables may require several minutes.

Blanching as a unit operation is a short time heating in water at temperatures of 100° C or below. Water blanching may be performed in double bottom kettles, in special baths with conveyor belts or in modern continuous blanching equipment.

In order to reduce losses of hydrosoluble substances (mineral salts, vitamins, sugars, etc.) occurring during water blanching, several methods have been developed:

• temperature setting at 85-95° C instead of 100° C;
• blanching time has to be just sufficient to inactivate enzymes catalase and peroxidase;
• assure elimination of air from tissues.

An illustration of blanching parameters is seen in Table 9.2.2.

TABLE 9.2.2 Blanching parameters for some vegetables

Steam heat treatment can also be applied instead of water blanching as a preliminary step before freezing or drying, as long as the preservation method is only used for enzyme inactivation and not to modify consistency.

For drying, the vegetables are conveyed directly from steaming equipment to drying installations without cooling. Vegetable steaming is carried out in continuous installations with conveyer belts made from metallic sieves.

Cooling of vegetables after water blanching or steaming is performed in order to avoid excessive softening of the tissues and has to follow immediately after these operations; one exception is the case of vegetables for drying which can be transferred directly to drying equipment without cooling.

Natural cooling is not recommended because is too long and generates significant losses in vitamin C content. Cooling in pre-cooled air (from special installations) is sometimes used for vegetables that will be frozen

Cooling in water can be achieved by sprays or by immersion; in any case the vegetables have to reach a temperature value under 37° C as soon as possible. Too long a cooling time generates supplementary losses in valuable hydrosoluble substances; in order to avoid this, the temperature of the cooling water has to be as low as possible.

9.2.8 Canning.

Large quantities of vegetable products are canned. A typical flow sheet for a vegetable canning operation (which also applies to fruit for the most part) covers some food process unit operations performed in sequence: harvesting; receiving; washing; grading; heat blanching; peeling and coring; can filling; removal of air under vacuum; sealing/closing, retorting/heat treatment; cooling; labelling and packing. The vegetable may be canned whole, diced, puréed, as juice and so on.

9.2.9 On-line simplified methods for enzyme activity check

Peroxidase test

a) Solutions. In order to check the peroxidase activity two solutions have to be prepared:

• 1% guaiacol in alcohol solution (1 g guaiacol is dissolved in about 50 cm³ of 96% ethylic alcohol and then this preparation is brought to 100 cm° with the same solvent);
• peroxide solution 0.3% (1 cm³ perhydrol is brought to 100 cm³ with distilled water.

b) Sampling. From various parts of the material samples are taken (about 20-30 pieces, etc.); the material is then crushed in a laboratory bowl in order to obtain an average sample.

c) Check. Prom the average sample, 10-20 g of material is taken in a medium capacity test tube; on this sample are poured: 20 cm³ distilled water; 1 cm³ of 1% guaiacol solution; 1.6 cm³ of peroxide solution.

The contents of the test tube is shaken well. The gradual appearance of a weak pink colour indicates an incomplete peroxidase inactivation - reaction slightly positive. If there are no tissue colour modifications after 5 minutes, the reaction is negative and the enzymes have been inactivated.

As an orientative check it is also possible to simply pour a few drops of 1% guaiacol solution and 0.3% peroxide solution directly on blanched and crushed vegetables. A rapid and intensive brown-reddish tissue colouring indicates a high peroxidase activity (positive reaction).

Catalase test

In order to identify the catalase enzyme activity, 2 g of dehydrated vegetables are well crushed and mixed with about 20 cm³ of distilled water. After 15 min softening, 0.5 cm³ of a 0.5% or 1% peroxide solution is poured on prepared vegetables. In the presence of catalase, a strong oxygen generation is observed for about 2-3 minutes.

These tests are of a paramount importance in order to determine the vegetable blanching treatments (temperature and time); incomplete enzyme inactivation has a negative effect on finished product quality.

For cabbage catalase inactivation by blanching is sufficient; blanching further to peroxidase inactivation would have negative effects on product quality and even complete browning.

For all other vegetables and for potatoes, both tests MUST be negative, for catalase and for peroxidase.

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