Mulberry is a fruit that has a considerable acceptance among consumers. The short harvest season and low persistence of this fruit have led to the use of methods such as freezing that have the least effect on phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties and sensory properties of the mulberry. One of the problems of sensory evaluation is the non-parametric results of the answers and the low accuracy of their analysis. Today, methods such as fuzzy logic allow inaccurate parameters to be analyzed by mathematical methods. In the present study, mulberry was stored in a freezer at -18 °C for six months and removed from the freezer at 0, 72 h, one month, two months and six months. After juice making, the sensory evaluation was performed using five-point hedonic method and the data were analyzed using fuzzy logic methodology, while attributes were color, aroma, taste, and feel mouth. Also, pH, acidity, antioxidant activity and total phenol content were evaluated. Sensory evaluation of the samples showed that the freezing of the mulberry increased the overall suitability of the samples in 72 hours and did not show a decrease in sensory properties during 6 months. Panelists assessed the importance of sensory attributes including taste, mouthfeel, fragrance, and color, as well. Although, sensory evaluation did not decrease the sensory of juice, significant decrease of pH (19.83%), increase in acidity (0.31%) and a decrease in antioxidant activity (about 14%) and phenolic compounds (about 21%) during freezing was observed. According to the obtained results, freezing can be suggested as an acceptable method for long storage of mulberry fruit.
Article Type:
Original Research |
Subject:
Statistics, modeling and response levels in the food industry Received: 2020/05/7 | Accepted: 2020/07/18 | Published: 2020/11/30