Osmotic dehydration of mango: Effect of vacuum impregnation, high pressure, pectin methylesterase and ripeness on quality

The effects of pretreatment with vacuum impregnation (VI) and high pressure (HP) and adding pectin methylesterase (PME) with calcium on the quality of osmotic dehydrated mango of different ripeness were investigated. Unripe and ripe 'Kent' mango cubes were osmotic dehydrated (OD at 50 °C in 60 °Brix sucrose solution containing 2 g calcium lactate/100 g and 0 or 0.48 mL PME/100 g), preceded either by VI (OD-VI) or HP (OD-HP). Use of unripe mango in OD showed two to five-fold higher soluble solid gain (SSG) compared to ripe mango for all treatments. Unripe mango pretreated with OD-VI showed the lowest water loss (WL) and the highest SSG. OD-HP had a similar but less pronounced effect as OD-VI on WL and SSG. Hue (h*) were generally preserved and color intensity (C*) were maintained or only slightly increased in both ripeness in all treatments. Lightness (L*) was greatly reduced in unripe mango but stable in ripe mango. In general, firmness and work of shear slightly increased when adding PME.