MICROWAVE BLANCHING OF CUBED POTATOES

Cubed potatoes cv. Primura were blanched by microwaves in water, NaCl solution, CaCl₂ solution and NaCl-CaCl₂ solution at selected powers and times. Mass and water gain/loss, firmness, starch gelatinization, color and polyphenoloxidase activity were evaluated. The results showed that all the blanching treatments induced a weight loss even if it was caused by a combined loss of water and dry matter in potatoes blanched in the saline solutions whereas it was a balance between water gain and dry matter loss in potatoes blanched in water. Firmness was affected in a negative way especially by the treatment time. Potatoes blanched in NaCl-CaCl₂ showed the highest firmness retention, whereas potatoes blanched in NaCl were less consistent. Treatment time and microwave power contributed in the same way to the starch gelatinization. It was necessary to prolong the time of treatment to 3–5 min and apply high power to inactivate polyphenoloxidase.