Abstract
Mango, the "king of the fruits", has great potential as a fresh-cut product. However, preliminary tests showed that stored cut fruit becomes dry and looses flavor. Fruit coatings may decrease gas exchange, thereby retaining moisture and flavor. Ripe mango fruit (cv. Tommy Atkins), were washed, peeled and cut into 2 × 2 cm pieces. Pieces were dipped for 30 seconds in 5 ppm chlorine dioxide, 2% calcium ascorbate and 0.5% N-acetyl-L-cysteine (antioxidants), or coating solutions of 1% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) or CMC and 0.5% maltodextrin (CMM). Two controls were used: no dip and chlorine dioxide dip only. Cut pieces were drained and stored on trays in Ziplock® sandwich bags at 5 or 10 C. Coated fruit, and fruit treated with antioxidants stored at 5 C maintained good visual quality after three weeks as compared to controls. L* value and hue angle were the highest for CMC-treated fruit stored 21 days at 5 C. When stored at 10 C, visual quality of the two controls was the lowest, but overall, none of the treatments were acceptable after 14 days. CMC-treated fruit tended to be firmer when stored at 5 C after 11 days, but not at 10 C. Taste panels did not detect any difference between treatments. In a second experiment, more coatings were investigated, including chitosan, potato starch, whey protein, and soybean oil emulsion. CMM coating was rated highest, and the two controls and whey protein were rated lowest for visual quality and flavor.
