Fruit pur?es with innovative textures

The modulation of three parameters ? the size of pulp particles, the quantity of insoluble elements (cell walls) and viscosity of the serum ? is the key to developing fruit pur?es with innovative textures.? Validated in apple pur?e, the experimental approach adopted during this project could easily be extrapolated to other fruits and vegetables. Increasing the consumption of fruits: a public health challengeAlthough the slogan "eat 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day" to stay fit has been integrated by nearly a third of French people, only 12% of us apply it on a daily basis.? Apples arrive at the top of the list of the most widely consumed fruits in France, far ahead of oranges and bananas.? But to remain attractive, they have had to adapt to changes in our lifestyles.? Thus pur?es and other ready-to-eat products have rapidly assumed an important place on supermarket shelves, with product innovation in the background as a driver of consumption. Texture, a parameter for the quality of fruit pur?es that needs to be controlledTexture is one of the principal quality attributes of fruit pur?es, and thus has an important role to play in the development of new products.? It is dependent on numerous factors that may be intrinsic to the fruits (variety, ripeness, etc.) or inherent to transformation processes (grinding, heating, etc.).? Research initiated in the context of a CIFRE thesis project with the company Conserves France has highlighted the relationships between the rheological, structural and sensory properties of apple pur?es.From a physical point of view, apple pur?es are suspensions that contain a relatively high concentration of soft particles, made up of the cell walls of the fruit's parenchyma dispersed in a serum with which they are filled.? This serum mainly comprises water, sugars (13% p/p) and pectins (0.17 % p/p), that are solubilised during thermal treatment of the preparation.It has been shown that the two major sensory characteristics of fruit pur?e texture - consistency and grittiness - can be controlled directly? and respectively by the quantity of insoluble components (cell walls within the pulp) and particle size in the pulp.? Serum viscosity also acts directly on the perception of grittiness, but to a lesser extent.A method to manage texture that could be extended to other fruits and vegetablesThe results showed that the texture of plant dispersions can be "managed" by controlling certain key parameters.? Considerable opportunities for innovation? are thus available if these levers are acted upon, particularly at the level of parameters in the manufacturing process.? This work has thus opened the way to possible innovations in processed plant products by allowing the adaptation of texture to needs, notably in specific populations such as the elderly.?More information and sourcesG?rard CUVELIER AgroParisTech/INRA Joint Research Unit for Food Process Engineering (UMR1145)Associated Division(s): ?Science and Process Engineering of Agricultural ProductsAssociated Centre(s): ?Jouy-en-Josas INRA Science and Impact The picture is by vending-madrid.com