• Culinary science and hospitality research
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.54-64
• /
• 2014

In order to enhance the firmness of retorted onion, long time, low temperature blanching(LTLT) in calcium solution was conducted. Pre-heating onion in calcium solution significantly improved its texture after high temperature sterilization as compared to conventional blanching alone. The improvement of the firmness by the LTLT blanching is related to the formation of strongly cross-linkages between carboxyl groups and divalent cations($Ca^{2+}$) by the action of pectin methy-lesterase(PME) in onion. A maximum firmness of retorted onion was obtained at the condition of pre-heating at $70^{\circ}C$ for 120min in 0.5%calcium solution. This result supports that the activity of PME and the content of bonded calcium in onion were highest at $70^{\circ}C$. Additionally, the reaction of alkali calcium with various divalent cations such as $Mg^{2+}$ provided a function to hydrolyze pectin molecules, resulting in firmer retorted onion in various calcium agents. Further investigation should be carried out to determine the optimal condition for prevention of tissue softening of various retorted vegetables.