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Preserving fruits: these are the main processes used in the industry today
Alimentos SAS • Jun 30, 2021
Essentially, any change that makes the food inedible, is spoilage. For centuries, humanity has developed ways to maintain food quality for as long as possible. Read on to learn more about the different methods available for preserving fruits today.
Why do we preserve fruit?
Loss of quality in fresh crops stems from a number of factors – from being bruised to insect or rodent damage. Spoilage is usually caused by microorganism growth in food (University of California, n.d.), such as bacteria, yeasts, and molds. Due to its acidic content, fruit is prone to the latter two (James and Kuipers, 2003).
Food preservation inhibits spoilage and leads to the availability of safe, nutritious food for extended periods. Preserving fruits and other perishable produce allows consumers to enjoy a wide variety of foods year-round, even if they are seasonal (University of California, n.d.).
Today, preserved fruits include (Research and Markets, 2021):
- Cooked, prepared, dried, or frozen whole fruits or pieces of fruit.
- Purees.
- Pastes.
- Jams and jellies.
- Marmalades.
They can be consumed as they are, as is the case with canned peaches. They are also a useful ingredient. For example, one can use fruit puree in baked goods, juices, and smoothies, as they retain taste and nutrients from fresh fruit (Dohler, n.d.). Products like jams and marmalades are also frequently used to sweeten and flavor (Ivanko, 2012).
That is why preserved fruits are common not only in consumers’ kitchens but also in food manufacturing. They can be pivotal in material management processes dealing with the necessary elements to create edible food products.
So, what are the main methods of preserving fruits?
Preserving fruits
The food industry has developed or perfected different ways of preserving fruits. Their end goal is to eliminate spoilage agents without damaging the nutritional value and taste of fresh produce (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, n.d.). By doing so, they contribute to securing the quality of conserved fruit products along the food supply chain.
These are today’s leading methods of preserving fruits in the food industry:
Drying
Dehydration conserves food by removing moisture, which is a fostering environment for microorganism growth (Preserve and Pickle, n.d.).
In the case of fruits, the top drying processes are (Preserve and Pickle, n.d.):
- Drying using an oven or a dehydrator.
- Sun drying, which is the most natural process, but also the one with the least controlled conditions. It needs direct sunlight and an average humidity below 20%.
Chemical processing
This method normally involves mixing a high concentration of sugar with fruit pulp or juice to create a difficult setting for molds and yeasts to reproduce (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, n.d.). As sugar contains very little water, it dehydrates any organisms it comes in contact with, inhibiting their growth (Preserve and Pickle, n.d.).
Jams, jellies, fruit cheeses, and fruit drink concentrates are all sugar-conserved. They require sterilized, sealed packaging to prevent contamination (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, n.d.).
Heating
Heat is one of the most common and effective ways of preserving fruits. It kills microorganisms and inactivates enzyme activity leading to decay. The process includes (James and Kuipers, 2003):
- Placing fruits in heat-resistant containers (cans or glass jars).
- Heating them in boiling water (at 212°F maximum), due to fruits’ low pH level.
- Storing the containers properly for maximum preservation.
Freezing
Freezing foods causes microorganisms to enter a dormant stage and not reproduce. It preserves fruits as long as their environment remains cold enough. The two main processes are (SmartSense, 2018, b):
- Mechanical, which withdraws heat from the product by circulating a refrigerant in a freezing system.
- Cryogenic, which swiftly freezes products by directly applying liquid nitrogen or solid carbon dioxide.
Notes on fruit preservation
Here are some interesting closing facts about fruit preservation (SmartSense, 2018, a.):
- Preserving fruits and other foods is as old as humanity. Food historians believe this practice (along with agriculture) enabled the shift from nomadic communities to settled societies.
- Many early societies preserved fruits in honey or liquid from sugar cane. In fact, the Greeks and Romans mastered the use of heated sugar and fruit pectin as an emulsifier.
- Canned fruit hails from the early 1800s when the French government offered a reward to any inventor capable of effectively preserving food to feed armies during the Napoleonic wars.
Today,
high-pressure processing is on the rise to better maintain nutrients, taste, and texture in food, especially moist products like fruit purees and jams (Thyssenkrupp, n.d.).
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