Freezing Preservation of Fruits

Abstract

Freezing is one ofthe best methods for long-term storage of fruits. Freezing preserves the original color, flavor, and nutritive value of most fruits. Fresh fruits, when harvested, continue to ,undergo chemical, biochemical, and physical changes, which can caused eterioration reactions such as senescencee, nzymatic decay,chemical decay, and microbial growth. The freezing process reduces the rate ofthese degradation reactions and inhibits the microbiological activity. However, it should be recognized that a number of physical, chemical, and biochemical reactions can still occur under frozen storage and many will be accentuated when recommended conditions of handling, production, and storage are not maintained. This chapter reviews different factors (type of fruit, varietal characteristics, stage of maturity, pretreatments, type of pack, rate of freezing) affecting safety and sensorial and nutritional quatity of frozen fruit. Control freezing process, frozen storage, and thawing are critical to getting a fruit-derived products of high quality after freezing and thawing.