Abstract:

The influence of various parameters of technological treatment on the degree of chlorophyll destruction and change in the green coloration of the sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) has been investigated. It has been established that the temperature and duration of its effect on sweet pepper during primary heat treatment alter its natural green coloration to yellow with a brown tint. The paper presents experimental spectra of the intensity of light absorption by the samples of sweet pepper, which make it possible to define regularities in the influence of time and temperature on the color and the degree of chlorophyll destruction. During blanching, from 25.2 to 59.2 per cent of the total amount of chlorophylls of the starting value are destroyed, depending on the water temperature. It was established that the blanching process duration negatively affects the content of chlorophylls as well: depending on the process duration, 20.2‒61.7 % of the original content are degraded. The experimental diffuse reflection spectra for opaque objects, provided here, have made it possible to identify the dependence of color of the samples of pepper, treated in the Xanthium strumarium decoction, on various factors of the technological process. It is shown that the use of decoction of the natural plant raw material Xanthium strumarium for treating the samples leads to the stabilization of the green coloration of pepper compared to that blanched in water. The influence of the Xanthium strumarium concentration, temperature, and exposure time in the decoction, on the color of pepper samples has been investigated. Applying such color­parametric characteristics, calculated on the basis of spectral reflection coefficients using a CIE XYZ method, as dominant wavelength (λ, nm), color clarity (P, %), and brightness (T, %), has made it possible to compare the color of pepper samples with fresh samples (control­1), as well as with the samples blanched in water (control­2).The multivariate experiment, performed in this research, has made it possible to optimize parameters for the technological treatment of pepper samples in the Xanthium strumarium decoction. Basic parameters for treating sweet pepper are a 1­% Xanthium strumarium decoction, a treatment temperature of 75 °C, and a treatment duration of 15 minutes Author Biographies Antonina Dubinina, Kharkiv State University of Food Technology and Trade Klochkivska str., 333, Kharkiv, Ukraine, 61051 Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Head of Department Department of Merchandising and Goods’ Examination

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