Dados do Trabalho

Título

PHYSICOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF EDIBLE ICES BASED ON WHEY AND WATERMELON (Citrullus lanatus) PROCESSED BY OHMIC HEATING

Introdução

Thermal technologies ensure microbiological safety but can alter food's nutritional and sensory characteristics. The demand for nutritious, tasty, and sustainable products drives the adoption of emerging technologies such as ohmic heating (OH), where electrical energy is dissipated as heat, quickly and uniformly. This study investigates the effects of processing popsicles made from whey and watermelon using OH.

Material e Métodos

For the preparation of the mixture, 74.8% (w/v) watermelon juice, 20% (w/v) reconstituted whey, 5% (w/v) commercial refined sucrose, and 0.2% (w/v) carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) were used. The ohmic heating process was conducted at voltages of 30V (P30), 60V (P60), and 90V (P90), while pasteurization was performed at 70°C for 30 minutes (PP). The untreated mixture (PC) portions were analyzed for control, and fresh juice (SIN) was also studied. The physicochemical evaluation included analyses of moisture, lipids, protein, ash, carbohydrates, total titratable acidity, pH, total, soluble, and insoluble solids, according to official methods. For statistical analysis, ANOVA was performed, followed by Tukey's test (p<0.05).

Resultados e Discussão

The addition of whey, sucrose, and CMC reduced moisture and increased ash, protein, carbohydrate, pH, acidity, total and soluble solids compared to SIN (p<0.05). Regarding the popsicles, PC had the highest protein content, not differing from P60 (p>0.05). No significant difference (p>0.05) was found in moisture, ash, lipid, and carbohydrate contents. The pH was lower in the PC sample, with significant differences among the samples (p<0.05), while PP and P60 did not differ from each other (p>0.05). PC had the highest titratable acidity, differing from the other samples (p<0.05). Soluble solids were lower in PC, differing from the samples processed by OH (p<0.05), and insoluble solids were higher in PC, not differing from P30 and P90 (p>0.05). Total solids showed no differences among the samples (p>0.05).

Conclusão

The results indicate that OH could preserve the composition of popsicles compared to pasteurization, especially in terms of protein content, making it a promising application under the P60 conditions of this study.