Evaluation of the instrumental quality of pressure-assisted thermally processed carrots.

This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of pressure-assisted thermal processing (PATP) in preserving the texture, color, and carotene content of carrot cylinders in the pressure range of 500 to 700 MPa and the temperature range of 95 to 121 degrees C. The effectiveness of PATP was compared with that of conventional thermal processing (TP) by matching carrot preprocess temperature history. Results indicated that under comparable process temperatures (up to 105 degrees C), PATP retained the carrot quality attributes such as color and carotene content better than TP. However, process and preprocess thermal history at 121 degrees C greatly influenced carrot textural change and pressure protective effects were less pronounced. This study demonstrated that PATP has the potential to produce low-acid foods with a relatively better quality than TP.