Tropical fruit processed food improved in taste and crunchy bite and production method thereof

Abstract

To provide a tropical fruit processed food that can be stored and distributed for an extended period of time while preserving original taste, texture, and nutrient substances of tropical fruit, and a production method thereof.SOLUTION: A production method of tropical fruit processed food includes the steps of: peeling fresh tropical fruit after washed; cutting the peeled tropical fruit; steaming the cut tropical fruit to mature; mixing the steam-matured tropical fruit with purified water, organic sugar, and a browning preventive agent and packing the materials; and sterilizing, cooling and drying the mixed and packed tropical fruit. The tropical fruit is preferably selected from a group consisting of mango, banana, coconut, papaya, durian, passion fruit, litchi, dragon fruit, avocado, mangosteen, and pineapple.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a processed tropical fruit food with improved taste and texture and a method for producing the same.

Background Art

[0002] Due to climate change, the subtropicalization of temperate regions has been progressing extensively, and Northeast Asian regions including Korea are gradually changing to a subtropical environment. According to the agricultural outlook report of the Rural Economic Institute of Korea, when the average temperature of crops rises by 1 degree, the cultivable area rises by 81 km in latitude and the altitude rises by 154 m. The average temperature in Korea from June to August was 23.7 degrees between 1991 and 2000, but it has been observed that the average temperature in the most recent 10 years has risen by 0.6 degrees to 24.3 degrees. Converting this, it is calculated that the cultivable area of crops has moved 48.6 km northward and the altitude has risen by 92 m. As an example, the apple cultivation areas that were once centered around Daegu (Taegu) have now moved northward to Gangwon-do (Gangwon Province), and it is predicted that most of the suitable apple cultivation areas in the Korean Peninsula will disappear by 2070.

[0003] Research results have been published indicating that the fruit map in Korea is also changing due to such climate change. Although the demand for subtropical fruits is increasing and the number of farmers cultivating subtropical crops is increasing due to the rising average temperature, as of 2021, mangoes, passion fruits, and bananas are cultivated in that order in large quantities, and the cultivation areas of papayas, dragon fruits, guavas, etc. are also increasing.

[0004] Although it is true that both the demand for tropical fruits and the number of cultivating farmers are increasing, there are still problems in the aspects of the distribution, storage, and processing technologies of tropical fruits. In particular, the production volume is concentrated in specific periods such as summer, and there is a difficulty that the supply quantity is not constant.

[0005] Under such circumstances, the inventor has developed a fruit processing technology that can maintain the taste, texture, and nutritional components of various tropical fruits for a long time, and has thus completed the present invention.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] One object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a processed tropical fruit food, including steps of peeling a raw tropical fruit after washing, cutting the peeled tropical fruit, steaming the cut tropical fruit, mixing and packaging the steamed tropical fruit with purified water, organic sugar and a browning inhibitor, and sterilizing, cooling and drying the mixed and packaged tropical fruit.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide a processed tropical fruit food manufactured by the method for manufacturing a processed tropical fruit food.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] Hereinafter, this will be specifically described. On the other hand, each description and embodiment disclosed in the present invention is applicable to each other description and embodiment. That is, all combinations of various elements disclosed in the present invention belong to the scope of the present invention. Also, the scope of the present invention is not considered to be limited by the following specific description.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a processed tropical fruit food.

[0011] In the present invention, the method for manufacturing the processed tropical fruit food may include the steps of peeling the raw tropical fruit after washing, cutting the peeled tropical fruit, steaming the cut tropical fruit, mixing and packaging the steamed tropical fruit with purified water, organic sugar, and a browning inhibitor, and sterilizing, cooling, and drying the mixed and packaged tropical fruit.

[0012] In the manufacturing method of the present invention, the tropical fruit may be a ripe fruit or an unripe fruit, and more specifically, it may be an unripe fruit. In the present invention, "unripe fruit" or "immature fruit" means an unripe fruit that has not reached the "ripe fruit" stage for sale and consumption by the final consumer. Usually, when farmers harvest fruits in an unripe state, it is in the case where the fruits become overly ripe during the distribution stage and the marketability decreases. When tropical fruits imported from overseas to South Korea are cultivated in an immature state, they are often accompanied by treatment with substances (chemicals) for suppressing ripening. Alternatively, in order to improve the marketability of fruits and concentrate nutritional components, unripe fruits are intentionally removed during the cultivation process. However, the unripe fruits removed in this process have low marketability and are difficult to use, and may cause problems such as soil pollution. From this perspective, in the manufacturing method of the tropical fruit of the present invention, both ripe fruits and unripe fruits can be used, thereby improving the texture and taste of the tropical fruit and improving the income structure of farmers.

[0013] In the present invention, the organic sugar may be, but is not limited to, one or more sugars selected from the group consisting of xylose (sand) sugar, stevia, and enzyme-treated stevia.

[0014] In the present invention, the browning inhibitor may be, but is not limited to, one or more selected from the group consisting of vitamin C, citric acid, sodium citrate, and xanthan gum.

[0015] In the present invention, the tropical fruit may be one or more tropical fruits selected from the group consisting of mango, banana, coconut, papaya, durian, passion fruit, lychee, dragon fruit, avocado, mangosteen, and pineapple.

[0016] In the present invention, when the tropical fruit is one or more fruits selected from the group consisting of mango, papaya, lychee, and avocado, the step of cutting the tropical fruit may further include the step of removing the seeds of the fruit.

[0017] In the present invention, when the tropical fruit is pineapple, the step of removing the core of the fruit may further be included.

[0018] In the present invention, when the tropical fruit is mango, the unripe fruit may be green mango, or may be one showing a green color where the color of the fruit surface is not yellow or red. More specifically, since it takes 120 to 140 days for a mango to fully ripen, the unripe mango may be one harvested from fruits of 1 to 140 days, 30 to 130 days, 60 to 120 days, or 80 to 120 days based on the time when the fruits have formed on the mango tree.

[0019] In the present invention, the step of peeling the raw tropical fruit after washing may include a mechanical or chemical peeling process, and more specifically, it may be a mechanical peeling.

[0020] In the present invention, the step of cutting the peeled tropical fruit may be to cut the tropical fruit with a fork or cut it at an angle (corner cut). In the present invention, the fork cut means a method of cutting the fruit parallel to the long axis of the fruit to produce a long fruit piece, and the angled cut (corner cut) means a method of cutting the fruit into a rectangular parallelepiped or cube shape. In terms of whether the processed fruit can be eaten in one bite by the consumer, the angled cut method is better. On the other hand, when the fork cut method is selected, there is an advantage that the texture and texture of the final processed product are more excellent and a crispy texture can be maintained.

[0021] In the present invention, the step of steaming the cut tropical fruit may be carried out at a temperature of 70 to 100, 75 to 98, 80 to 97, or 85 to 95 °C, and / or may be carried out for 5 to 40, 10 to 30, or 15 to 25 minutes. When the step of steaming the tropical fruit deviates from the above temperature or time conditions, problems may occur in the texture, taste, flavor, and nutritional components of the tropical fruit, and in particular, the sugar content and hardness of the fruit may decrease. In particular, when the steaming time is shorter than the above range, sterilization may not be properly performed, and problems such as spoilage and product expansion may occur at the finished product stage of the processed food.

[0022] In the present invention, the step of packaging the steamed tropical fruit may be to mix the steamed tropical fruit, purified water, organic sugar, and anti-browning agent, and package it with a glass bottle or a polypropylene packaging material.

[0023] In the step of mixing and packaging the steamed tropical fruits of the present invention, the steamed tropical fruits may be contained in an amount of 50 to 80, 60 to 75, or 65 to 70% by weight based on the total weight of the processed food. The purified water may be contained in an amount of 10 to 40, 15 to 35, 20 to 30, or 23 to 27% by weight based on the total weight of the processed food. The organic sugar may be contained in an amount of 1 to 15, 3 to 10, 4 to 9, 5 to 8, or 6 to 7.5% by weight based on the total weight of the processed food. The anti-browning agent may be contained in an amount of 0.01 to 3, 0.01 to 2, or 0.05 to 0.15% by weight based on the total weight of the processed food.

[0024] In the step of mixing and packaging the steamed tropical fruits of the present invention, specifically, the tropical fruits, purified water, organic sugar, and anti-browning agent may be mixed in a weight ratio of 65 to 75:20 to 30:6 to 8:0.05 to 0.15, respectively. The weight ratio or mixing ratio of the components constituting the manufactured tropical fruit processed food can significantly affect the final taste, texture, consumer preference, etc. of the tropical fruits.

[0025] In the step of sterilizing, cooling, and drying the mixed and packaged tropical fruits of the present invention, the sterilization may be performed at a temperature of 80 to 100 or 85 to 95 °C, and / or may be performed for 5 to 40, 10 to 30, or 15 to 25 minutes.

[0026] Another aspect of the present invention provides a tropical fruit processed food manufactured by the method for manufacturing the tropical fruit processed food.

[0027] In the tropical fruit processed food, the tropical fruits and the processing are as described above.

[0028] In addition to the above-described configuration, the tropical fruit processed food of the present invention may further contain additives, preservatives, sweeteners, etc.

Advantages of the Invention

[0029] The manufacturing method of the tropical fruit processed food of the present invention can provide a tropical fruit processed food that can be stored and distributed for a long period while maintaining the original taste, crispy texture, and nutrients of the tropical fruit. Thereby, the income structure of tropical fruit cultivating farmers can be improved, and the annual demand for tropical fruits can be evenly satisfied.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0030]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0031] Hereinafter, one or more specific examples will be described in more detail through examples. However, these examples are for explaining one or more specific examples as examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples.

[0032] Example: Manufacture of Tropical Fruit Processed Food Mangoes produced in South Korea were purchased and prepared as tropical fruits. The mangoes were immature fruits 100 to 120 days after the time when fruits grew on the tree, and immature mangoes with green skin surface color were prepared.

[0033] After surface treatment of each fresh mango by ultrasonic cleaning, the peel was physically removed. At this time, the thickness of the peel was maintained at 4 mm to 7 mm to minimize pulp loss. After removing the seed in the center of the peeled mango, it was cut into 2 to 4 pieces and prepared.

[0034] The cut mangoes were steamed with steam at a temperature of 87 to 92 °C for about 20 minutes. After preparing purified water, organic sugar, and vitamin C for food additives, based on the whole processed product, the steamed mangoes: purified water: organic sugar: vitamin C were mixed at a weight ratio of 68:25:6.9:0.1, and then packaged and sealed with a glass bottle or a packaging material made of polypropylene.

[0035] The sealed tropical fruits were sterilized with steam at a temperature of 90 °C for 20 minutes, then cooled and dried in a low-temperature facility, and finally commercialized (Example 1).

[0036] On the other hand, except that the processed food was manufactured using a mature mango that was about 130 days after the time when the mango became fruit on the tree and the color of the skin surface showed yellow, the remaining process was the same as in Example 1 to manufacture the fruit processed food (Example 2).

[0037] Also, except that the immature papaya other than mango was used as the tropical fruit, the remaining process was the same as in Example 1 to manufacture the fruit processed food (Example 3).

[0038] Also, except that the mature (fully ripe) papaya other than mango was used as the tropical fruit, the remaining process was the same as in Example 1 to manufacture the fruit processed food (Example 4).

[0039] Also, except that the immature avocado other than mango was used as the tropical fruit, the remaining process was the same as in Example 1 to manufacture the fruit processed food (Example 5).

[0040] Also, except for using mature (fully ripe) avocados instead of mangoes as the tropical fruit, the remaining process was the same as in Example 1 to produce a fruit processed food (Example 6).

[0041] Comparative Example: Production of a processed food from tropical fruits for comparison For comparison with the processed tropical fruit foods of Examples 1 and 2, the following processed tropical fruit foods were additionally produced.

[0042] First, except for steaming the immature mangoes cut in Example 1 with steam at a temperature of 95 - 97°C, the remaining process was the same as in Example 1 to produce a fruit processed food (Comparative Example 1).

[0043] Next, except for steaming the immature mangoes cut in Example 1 with steam at a temperature of 80 - 85°C, the remaining process was the same as in Example 1 to produce a fruit processed food (Comparative Example 2).

[0044] Next, except for steaming the immature mangoes cut in Example 1 with steam at the same temperature for about 10 minutes, the remaining process was the same as in Example 1 to produce a fruit processed food (Comparative Example 3).

[0045] Next, except for steaming the immature mangoes cut in Example 1 with steam at the same temperature for about 30 minutes, the remaining process was the same as in Example 1 to produce a fruit processed food (Comparative Example 4).

[0046] Next, as shown in Table 1 below, processed foods of Comparative Examples 5 - 9 were produced by varying the contents of the tropical fruit, purified water, xylose sugar, and vitamin C that make up the processed food of Example 1.

[0047]

Table 1

[0048] Experimental Example 1: Evaluation of physical properties (texture) of processed tropical fruit foods The analysis of the characteristics of the tropical fruit processed foods of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 to 5 was carried out by entrusting the Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Institute (Iksan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea).

[0049] First, for the analysis of texture, using a texture analyzer (zwick Roell, Germany), after placing the fruit sample in the center of the test bottom plate in a sealed packaged processed food product, it was compressed under the conditions of 2 number of cycles, a circular probe / plane with a diameter of 100 mm, 5 g pre-load, 3.0 mm / sec test speed, and 20% strain. After squeezing the sample twice with the probe to measure the texture (hardness, elasticity, adhesiveness, chewiness), this was repeated 5 times to calculate the average value.

[0050]

Table 2

[0051] Hardness: The maximum force required when compressing the sample Elasticity: The property of returning to the original state after the removal of the force applied to the sample Adhesiveness: The property of making a semi-solid sample ingestible Chewiness: The energy required to convert a solid sample into an ingestible state Summarizing the content of Table 2 above, it is as follows.

[0052] First, Example 1 manufactured using unripe mangoes was confirmed to have the highest hardness and texture scale. Specifically, in terms of all of hardness, elasticity, adhesiveness, and chewiness being high, it was confirmed that the texture of the fruit was maintained most excellently and that there was a very low possibility of problems such as the fruit being sticky or melting.

[0053] In contrast, it was confirmed that in Example 2 using ripe mangoes and Comparative Examples 1, 2, and 4 with different steaming temperatures and times, the hardness, elasticity, adhesiveness, and chewiness were relatively low. In the case of Comparative Example 3, it was confirmed that the texture was relatively high by making the steaming time relatively short. However, as described later, good preference did not appear in the sensory evaluation.

[0054] Therefore, it was confirmed that even when using unripe mangoes, the texture and texture of the fruit can be maintained, and the steaming temperature and time for the cut fruit are important factors.

[0055] Experimental Example 2: Sensory Evaluation of Tropical Fruit Processed Foods In order to confirm the consumer preference for the tropical fruit processed foods of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 to 9, a sensory evaluation was conducted. Specifically, after preparing fruit samples of the tropical fruit processed foods of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 to 9 as 40 g pieces at room temperature, 30 trained panelists were asked to evaluate considering the texture, sugar content, and overall preference of the product. After calculating the average of the scores of the 30 panelists for the sensory measurement results and rounding to two decimal places, they are shown in the following table.

[0056]

Table 3

[0057] Summarizing the contents of Table 3 above, it is as follows.

[0058] First, Example 1 manufactured using immature mangoes was highly evaluated in terms of texture, sugar content, and overall preference index. In contrast, Example 2 using mature mangoes and Comparative Examples 1 - 4 with different steaming temperatures and times were given slightly lower scores in terms of texture and overall preference. Comparative Example 5 with a high addition of vitamin C was given low scores in terms of sugar content and preference, and Comparative Example 6 without adding vitamin C from the beginning received a high score in terms of sugar content but was measured to have a low preference. Also, in the case of Comparative Examples 7 - 9 manufactured with different contents of fruit, xylose sugar, and vitamin C, it was confirmed that the texture was similar to that of Example 1, but the sugar content and preference recognized by consumers could not receive high scores.

[0059] Through such results, it was confirmed that the manufacturing method of tropical fruits in Example 1 can produce tropical fruit processed foods with excellent tissue texture and texture while also having a high level of satisfaction in terms of consumer preference.

[0060] Experimental Example 3: Investigation of the difference in texture of processed foods due to the cutting method of tropical fruits When the cutting method of tropical fruits is different, it was specifically attempted to confirm whether the texture of the finished products manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention is different.

[0061] First, Peruvian apple mangoes were purchased and processed foods were manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1. However, in the fruit cutting step, a slicing method of cutting the fruit parallel to the long axis of the fruit to produce long fruit slices (Example 7) and a cross - cutting (corner - cutting) method of cutting the fruit into a rectangular parallelepiped or cube shape (Example 8) were used respectively for manufacturing (Figs. 2 - 4).

[0062] For the processed foods of Examples 7 and 8 above, a sensory evaluation of tropical fruit processed foods was conducted in the same manner as in Experimental Example 2. The number of panel members and sensory evaluation indicators were all the same.

[0063]

Table 4

[0064] As a result, as shown in the above table, there is no difference in terms of the sugar content of the two products, but it was confirmed that the product of Example 7 received a higher score in terms of texture and the overall preference index.

[0065] As described above, the present invention has been described mainly with reference to its preferred embodiments. Those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains will understand that the present invention can be realized in a modified form without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered from an illustrative rather than a limiting perspective. The scope of the present invention is shown not in the above description but in the claims, and all differences within the equivalent scope thereof should be construed as being included in the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a processed tropical fruit food, comprising the steps of peeling a fresh tropical fruit after washing, cutting the peeled tropical fruit, steaming the cut tropical fruit, mixing and packaging the steamed tropical fruit with purified water, organic sugar, and an anti-browning agent, and sterilizing, cooling, and drying the mixed and packaged tropical fruit.

2. The method for manufacturing a processed tropical fruit food according to Claim 1, wherein the tropical fruit is one or more tropical fruits selected from the group consisting of mango, banana, coconut, papaya, durian, passion fruit, lychee, dragon fruit, avocado, mangosteen, and pineapple.

3. The method for manufacturing a processed tropical fruit food according to Claim 1, wherein the step of steaming the cut tropical fruit is performed at a temperature of 70 to 100°C.

4. The method for manufacturing a processed tropical fruit food according to Claim 1, wherein the steamed tropical fruit is contained in an amount of 50 to 80% by weight based on the total weight of the processed food.

5. A processed tropical fruit food manufactured by the manufacturing method according to Claim 1.

Images