Firmness is an important fruit quality trait in northern highbush blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum ). Many researchers, growers, and packers rely on machines for measuring firmness right after harvest during postharvest cold storage of fresh fruit. In this study, we compared two that use compression measurements to determine a force-deformation value. The first firmness-testing machine has been...

The laser air-puff method was investigated for non-destructive firmness measurements on kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson cv. Hayward) and apricot (Prunus armeniaca L. cv. CluthaGold). The method involves delivering a sharp puff of air onto a stationary fruit whilst recording the resulting surface deformation with a laser displacement sensor. At a 65-kPa maxi...

Softening characteristics were investigated in three types of pear fruit, namely, European pear 'La France', Chinese pear 'Yali', and Japanese pear 'Nijisseiki'. 'La France' fruit softened dramatically and developed a melting texture during ripening, while 'Yali' fruit with and without propylene treatment showed no change in flesh firmness and texture during ripening. Non-treated 'Nijisseiki' d...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical, sensory properties and stability of a functional soy product with soy fiber and fermented with probiotic kefir culture. The product was characterized by the chemical composition, color and sensory analysis. The stability of the product was evaluated by pH, acidity, viscosity, firmness, syneresis measurements and cells counts. The functio...

The effects of temperature and calcium on pectin methylesterase (PME) activity and texture in tomato pericarp material were examined. Heating thin slices of pericarp to temperatures between 50 °C and 75 °C led to the rapid evolution of methanol from the material, indicating an activation of PME. This activity was further stimulated when CaCl2 (up to 2.0% w/v) was added. When applied to half-inc...

In strawberry, the putative participation of aquaporins should be considered during fruit ripening. Furthermore, the availability of different firmness cultivars in this non-climacteric fruit is a very useful tool to determine their involvement in softening. In a previous work, the cloning of a strawberry fruit-specific aquaporin, FaPIP1;1, which showed an expression profile associated with fru...

Due to unfavourable climatic conditions, the production of wheat in Mozambique is not sufficient to satisfy national food industrial needs and substantial quantities must be imported at high cost. Bread is currently produced basically using wheat flour. Therefore, this thesis examined the partial replacement of wheat flour by cassava-maize flours in the Mozambican bread manufacturing context an...