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Evaluation of the physicochemical and textural properties ofpomelo fruit following storage
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 October 2012
Abstract
Introduction. Because of the long transportation times and storage durationsthat are often experienced, it is important to understand how pomelo properties changeover time; that will be indicative of how long samples can be stored before they dropbelow acceptable quality limits. As no information is available regarding storage ofpomelo fruit in the literature, the goal of our work was to study the change in pomelophysicochemical and textural properties following storage over a period of approximately4 months. Materials and methods. The changes in physical, chemical andtextural properties of commercial pomelo fruit were extensively evaluated over the courseof a 4-month storage period. The correlation among physical, color, chemical and texturalproperties were also assessed. Results. Color properties(L*, a*, b*) changed significantly withstorage; however, they did not change much during the initial 45 days of storage. Thechange in soluble solids content (SSC), acidity (A) and the [(SSC) / (A)] ratio suggestedthat pomelo fruit should not be stored for more than 75 days. Crucially, our studydemonstrates that the a* parameter (greenness, R = –0.556) correlatesbest with the chemical property the [(SSC) / (A)] ratio, which is a recognized measurementof the consumer acceptability of citrus fruit. This means that measuringa* is a non-destructive way of monitoring the taste characteristics ofpomelos in storage. This property also correlated well with the average firmness of thefruit and with the flesh texture. Conclusion. This fundamental information onthe pomelo fruit could prove useful in the physical handling and processing of the fruitby breeders and postharvest technologists as well as distributors, market agents,importers and exporters.
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- © 2012 Cirad/EDP Sciences
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