Reprocessing effect on the quality of domestically cooked (boiled/stir-fried) frozen vegetables

This was a study of the effect on quality parameters of reprocessing (blanching at 97°C for increasing times+freezing) prior to domestic cooking (boiling or stir-frying) of frozen green peas (cv. Mastim) and beans (cvs. Paloma and Moncayo). The results were compared with those of frozen control samples directly boiled or stir-fried. Kramer shear was the most suitable mechanical test for evaluating the effect of reprocessing on mechanical behaviour in both boiled and stir-fried frozen vegetables. Reprocessing significantly affected the mechanical behaviour of both green bean varieties with both cooking methods. Reprocessed products were softer than those supplied by the industry, and softening was significantly greater the longer the blanching time. The colour was more uniform and homogeneous in boiled than in stir-fried reprocessed vegetables; colour parameters showed that reprocessing affected the colour of stir-fried samples more significantly than that of boiled samples. In all the studied vegetables, less chlorophyll and more ascorbic acid were retained when samples were stir-fried than when they were boiled, although chlorophyll and ascorbic acid decreased with increasing reprocessing time in both cooking methods. In the two frozen green bean varieties in particular, SEM microphotographs confirmed the results of mechanical tests, indicating that with both cooking methods, the mechanical parameters were lower in the reprocessed samples than in the controls. The shortest reprocessing procedure (blanching at 97°C for 2, 3 min+freezing), as a compromise among quality parameters, could shorten the time required for domestic stir-frying of frozen green peas and boiling or stir-frying of frozen green beans. © Springer-Verlag 2004.Peer Reviewe