Development of mango compote using pulse electric field technique for industrial scale

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a pulsed electric field (PEF) on the moisture content, water activity, color, texture, and mass transfer in the processing of mangos. Factorial experiments in completely randomized design of 2×2×5 were used. The three factors examined were intensity (2 and 3 kV/cm), frequency (1 and 3 Hz), and pulse number (500, 700, 900, 1100, and 1300 pulses). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the main effect and interaction effect of the investigated parameters. In addition, the best conditions for 30 °Brix and 50 °Brix solutions were compared and the change of pH value, vitamin A and C content, osmotic dehydration efficiency, as well as microstructure of mango were investigated. The conclusions of the study are: 1) The best condition of PEF treatment for the osmotically dehydrated mango at 30°Brix was 3 kV/cm of pulse intensity, 1 Hz of pulse frequency, and 500 pulses. These conditions resulted in higher mass transfer of the osmotically dehydrated mango than other conditions. 2) The best condition of PEF treatment for the osmotically dehydrated mango at 50°Brix was 3 kV/cm of pulse intensity, 3 Hz of pulse frequency, and 1100 pulses. This condition significantly increased (p<0.05) the mass transfer of the osmotically dehydrated mango. The increase in mass transfer under these conditions was the highest of all conditions investigated. 3) The investigated parameters of moisture content, water activity, color, texture properties, and mass transfer change of osmotically dehydrated mango were influenced by PEF parameters.4) The three best conditions of PEF treatment were: 3 kV/cm, 1 Hz, and 500 pulses (PEF-1), 3 kV/cm, 1 Hz, and 1100 pulses (PEF-2), and 3 kV/cm, 3 Hz, and 1100 pulses (PEF-3). These conditions were investigated with 30 °Brix and 50 °Brix solutions and compared with untreated mango. PEF treatment of the osmotically dehydrated mango in a 50 °Brix solution significantly changed the moisture content, water activity, color, texture properties, vitamin A, vitamin C, and mass transfer. This change was greater than that of the 30 °Brix solution and untreated mango. However, the 30 °Brix solution had a higher osmotic dehydration efficiency (7.35) than the 50 °Brix solution (5.25).5) PEF treatment destroys the cell tissue of mango, which leads to better sucrose transfer to mango tissue than untreated mango.These findings suggest that the combination of PEF and osmotic dehydration can be an effective process for osmotically dehydrated mango production. In addition, this information might be a useful tool for industrial applications of fruit processing.