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Impact of various processing techniques on the quality and shelf life of apricots
1  National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, 38000 Pakistan
Academic Editor: Dariusz Dziki

Abstract:

Apricots, a popular fruit, are rich in essential nutrients that support healthy skin, eyes, immune systems, and digestive systems. In addition to being high in nutrients, they have numerous other health-related advantages. Apricots, however, are quite susceptible to spoiling and are exceedingly perishable. Thus, several processing techniques are applied to increase the shelf life and quality attributes of apricots. This study evaluated the impact of four processing techniques (freezing, blanching, frying, and drying) on the quality and shelf life of apricots. Five batches, each containing one kilogram of apricots, were made. The first batch served as a control sample, and the following batches underwent different procedures: drying at 80°C for 8 hours, blanching at 95°C for 10 seconds, frying at 195°C for 2.5 minutes, and freezing at -4°C. After the apricots were processed, proximate studies were conducted using standard evaluation techniques. The results showed that the T3 (dry) batch had the lowest moisture (62.33%), while the T1 (blanched) batch had the highest moisture (78.66%). Every sample had nearly the same amount of ash in it. The sample that was blanched had the highest proportion of crude protein (12.33%), whereas the sample that was frozen had the lowest amount (1.95%). None of the samples' crude fiber contents differed noticeably from one another. The fried samples had the highest crude fat content (11.93%), while the frozen sample had the lowest (1.21%). The frozen sample had the lowest carbohydrate content (4.6%), while the dried apricot samples had the greatest (19.49%). Overall, the study's findings showed that, for preserving moisture, ash, fiber, and protein contents, T2 (blanching) is a relatively superior approach to frying or frying, respectively, for preserving fat and carbohydrate contents.

Keywords: processing techniques, shelf life, extended quality, quality evaluation

 
 
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