Production of concentrated cherry and apricot juices by cryoconcentration technology

In this study, apricot and cherry juices were successfully cryoconcentrated. Two freezing temperatures −10 ± 1 °C, −20 ± 1 °C, and three cryoconcentration stages were studied. Freezing temperature did not show any affect on total dry matter content of the concentrated juices, as well as on their physico-chemical properties. At the same time, the cryoconcentration stage effect was highly significant on total dry matter content and juice qualities. Total dry matter of the apricot juice increased from 14.50 ± 1.12 g/100 g up to 35.50 ± 2.09 g/100 g in three cryoconcentration stages. Cherry juice total dry matter increased from 15.50 ± 1.26 g/100 g up to 45.50 ± 2.47 g/100 g. Concentrated juices had high aroma numbers and high content of ascorbic acid compared to the same juices obtained by the conventional method. The present study demonstrated that cryoconcentration as an environmentally friendly technology is a promising and highly effective food processing technique in the juice industry. Aroma number increased from 3.55 up to 8.38 and from 5.23 up to 15.75 for apricot and cherry juices, respectively. The juices obtained by cryoconcentration technology were compared to the same juices obtained by the conventional method of evaporation.