Increase in gloss of coated red peppers by different brushing procedures

Coating glossy surfaces may reduce their surface shine to undesirable levels. To minimize this effect, we studied pepper, a naturally highly glossy material, which had been coated with a hydrocolloid-wax preparation, reducing its gloss by ∼30%. We hypothesized that the reduced gloss could be increased by a simple brushing procedure. We examined various parameters related to brushing – type of brush, revolutions per minute (RPM) and brushing time – to determine what might best restore the fruit's initial, pre-coating gloss. Brushes with horse hair or nylon bristles, run at 100, 200 or 300 RPM for 1 or 10 min were tested. It was concluded that the horse hair brush gives better results for the coated and brushed commodity than the nylon brush, possibly due to the structure of the fibers and the nature of the formulation. A sensory evaluation panel concluded that coating and then brushing results in a product that is closer in appearance to the natural non-treated pepper, although still not as glossy as the non-coated product.

► Different brushing procedures were used to coat red peppers.
► The changes in gloss were measured for each treatment.
► Coating glossy surfaces may reduce their surface shine to undesirable levels.
► Coating and then brushing the peppers results in a product closer in appearance to the natural non-treated pepper.
► Horse hair brush yields better results for the coated and brushed peppers than those obtained with a nylon brush.