Abstract
Golden Delicious apples were dehydrated, ground and divided into several grades in order to determine quality characteristics for each fraction. Consumers show a preference for apple paste of different textures according to its intended use. The objective was to evaluate the most appro priate powder for the preparation of mixtures and recommend them for baking pies and pastries or to use them as ingredients for other products. Fresh apples were processed using combined methods. Apple cubes were dehydrated using a sucrose osmotic solution (34-52 °Brix) at 23-35 °C for 8 h followed by a hot air drying at 60-80 °C for 3.5 h. Dried apple cubes were ground in a hammer mill and divided into fractions of 0.707, 0.841 and 1.00 mm sieve diameters by Tyler standard sieves. Each fraction was tested for rehydration rate by water absorption and for firm ness by back extrusion in a TA.XT2® texture analyser. The results indicated that, as the particle size decreased the water absorption increased following, essentially, a linear pattern. With regards to firmness, the behavior was opposite to that of the rehydration rate, as particle size increased the extrusion force increased in direct proportion.
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