Thermal kinetics of physical and sensory changes in baby carrot under pasteurization conditions

Abstract

Baby carrots were pasteurized under different time-temperature intervals and analyzed for physical and sensory characteristics. Treatments were conducted at 65, 70, 75, 80, 85 and 99°C and analyzed for kinetics of color and texture. Cell damage and shrinkage were analyzed by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) at 70, 80 and 90°C. When temperature and time rise, L*, a*, b*, firmness and energy values decreased. The activation energy (Ea) for color and texture varied between 82.02–106.43 and 73.54–110.08 kJmol−1, respectively. Furthermore, carrots were pasteurized under different time-temperature combinations and showed a difference in cell density in comparison to fresh. Therefore, the pasteurization process consisting of high-temperature technology for a short time of carrots was considered best in terms of quality characteristics in comparison to low-temperature long time.