Influence of some processing methods on the quality of apple slices: II-Cultivar Melrose.
The influence of three browning treatments (blanching, SO2 and ascorbic acid) and three processing methods (canning, freezing and freeze-drying) on the quality of apple slices of the cultivar Melrose was studied. Immediately upon arrival at the pilot plant, half of the fruits was processed and the remainder was held in storage for six weeks at 4.4 degrees C to be processed later. The results showed that the best treatment was the blanching-freezing combination for all attributes of quality, except for color, in which the SO2-freezing combination was superior. Storage appeared to have some influence on the quality of apple slices, so that the zero week storage samples were judged superior for all attributes of quality. Blanching was the best browning treatment for freezing, but for freeze-drying the samples treated with SO2 was superior to the blanched ones.