Effect of pretreatment with salt and sucrose on the quality and stability of dehydrated cauliflower

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Abstract
Summary: Dehydrated cauliflower was prepared by soaking the blanched pieces in solutions of different concentrations of common salt and sucrose (cane sugar), alone and in combination, prior to drying in a cabinet drier and evaluated for sensory, rehydration, storage, microbiological, histological and sorption characteristics. While sucrose alone produced considerable improvement, salt supplemented its effect. The optimum treatment was soaking in 3% salt and 6% sucrose for 12–16h at 4°C it markedly reduced shrinkage and improved rehydration without affecting palatability. It was necessary to boil the soak solution for 3 min and cool prior to soaking to reduce microbial contamination. The treatment increased ascorbic acid loss by 8%. Monolayer moisture content calculated from BET equation was 6.5% (moisture‐free) basis for treated and 5.3% for untreated. The treatment increased the shelf‐life of the product from 3 to 12 months at ambient temperature when packaged in paper‐foil‐polythene laminate.