ABSTRACT
Ivy gourd is an underutilized vegetables found in the North of Minas Gerais State-Brazil. It is mainly consumed raw as salad. Pickling fruits can enhance the commercial exploitation of this species. However, no information on the processing techniques of the ivy gourd fruits in Brazil is found in literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality parameters in the production of pickled ivy gourd. The treatments consisted of three bleaching times (3, 6 and 9 minutes), using a completely randomized design, with seven replicates. We evaluated the traits: instrumental analyzes of pH, color, total titratable acidity, soluble solids, texture and sensorial affective tests. The pH is within the indicated range (below 4.5) and the bleaching time influenced the color and texture alteration since the sample under 3-minute bleaching presented a greater tendency for green and greater firmness. For the sensory analysis, no significant difference related to sensory scoring was noticed; in relation to mode value, we concluded that the 6-minute sample was more preferable, though. For titratable total acidity and soluble solids analyses, no significant differences between the samples was noticed, considering that both parameters were within the standard when compared to other literature. We concluded that heat treatment influenced only the texture and color intensity and the preserved product showed good acceptability.
Keywords:
Pickles; underutilized vegetable; processing