The new blanching process is useful in places where water is scarce; consumers can benefit from dried fruits and vegetables with enhanced nutritional value.
Dried fruit is a healthy snack. It is rich in vitamins and nutrients. A new research by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) has found that infrared dry blanching prior to blanching may improve the retention of water-soluble vitamins, like vitamin C in dried mangoes. Scientists from University Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique; Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden; and SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden compared the emerging technique of infrared blanching with traditional water blanching on the retention of vitamin C and carotenoids in dried mangoes. The study findings suggested that infrared blanching was a potential method for improving vitamin C retention in mango without extensive water consumption that was used in the traditional blanching method.
The new blanching process can be especially relevant in places where water is scarce and the consumers can benefit from dried fruits and vegetables with enhanced nutritional value.
The study has been published in the Journal of Food Science.
Source-ANI