Low-Temperature Blanching of Sweetpotatoes to Improve Firmness Retention: Effect on Compositional and Textural Properties

Low-temperature blanching of sweetpotatoes (SP) prior to cooking has been shown to significantly increase firmness retention. This research investigated the effect of blanching on firmness, pectin methylesterase activity (PME), pectin methylation, and galacturonic acid and cell wall material concentrations in SP tissue subjected to blanching and cooking treatments. PME activity decreased 82% after 20 min of blanching in water at 62 °C, while sample firmness continued to increase with blanching time (3.5 N for unblanched and 19.0 N for 90 min blanched, and cooked tissue), indicating that firming due to pectin demethylation explains part of the observed increased firmness retention caused by low-temperature blanching, but unknown factors also play a role.