Which Enzyme Preparations Are Often Used in Fruit and Vegetable Processing?

The so-called fruit and vegetable processing means to maximize the nutrient content of the fruit and vegetable through various processing methods, improve the edible value, and make the color, aroma and taste of the processed product more perfect. Make the fruits and vegetables achieve the purpose of long-term preservation, durability, and access at any time. Further improve the commercialization level of processed fruit and vegetable products. Common processed fruit and vegetable products include: fruit wine, fruit and vegetable juice, dried fruit and vegetable products, fruit and vegetable sugar products, canned fruit and vegetable, vegetable pickled products, etc.

Enzymes are produced by biological cells and have special catalytic effects. Compared with chemical preparations, enzymes will exist in the form of proteins after being exposed to high temperatures and will not have any side effects on the human body. Generally speaking, enzyme preparations are used by fruit and vegetable processing enterprises, and their application range is very wide. Common enzyme preparations are: pectinase, glucose oxidase, papain, cellulase and so on. Below we briefly introduce the functions of
Fruit and Vegetable Processing Enzymes:

1. Remove pectin, improve clarity and increase juice yield
Pectin in fruits and vegetables is the interstitial material of plant cells. Pectin has a very high viscosity, and its existence makes it difficult to squeeze, filter and clarify. Using pectinase to process fruits and vegetables can greatly improve the yield of squeezed juice and the clarification effect of juice. Due to the synergistic effect of pectin esterase and polygalacturonase, the pectin is degraded and the viscosity is reduced. It only takes a short time for the suspended matter to settle and complete the clarification process. Even if the fruit juice treated with pectinase is concentrated, it will not agglomerate to freeze, so concentrated fruit juice can be made.

2. Juice decolorization
Anthocyanidase can cut off the glucosidic bonds of anthocyanins to cause spontaneous ring opening and become a colorless substance. For example, peach sauce and grape juice can be decolorized by treating peach sauce and grape juice with anthocyaninase.

3. Removal of orange capsule
The orange gizzard is processed by acid-base treatment to remove the encapsulation and discharge a large amount of waste water. The endo-polygalacturonase selected from Aspergillus niger has a strong decapsulation effect.

4. Decompose harmful colloids and improve the ultrafiltration effect
The use of polyphenol oxidase or protease can make the ultrafiltration retentate contain no clarifying agent and make it a fiber source for food processing.

5. Debittering of citrus fruit juice
The main substances that form the bitter taste of citrus juices are naringin and limonine. Through the action of naringinase, naringin can be hydrolyzed into rhamnose, glucose and naringenin without bitter taste. Through the action of the limonine precursor dehydrogenase, in the presence of NAD+ or NADP+, the limonine precursor can be dehydrogenated. The enzyme is added to orange juice and treated at 30-40°C for one hour to debitter.

6. Reduce the oxygen and glucose contained in the juice, improve the aroma and flavor of fruit and vegetable juices
Use glucose oxidase to reduce oxygen and glucose in juice. β-glucosidase can improve the aroma composition of certain juices. Use protease to hydrolyze wheat gluten to produce spices; use lipase to hydrolyze fat to produce spices. If the flavor enzymes are added to the processed fruit and vegetable juice using a proper process, the fruit and vegetable juice can be restored to its original fresh flavor. As long as there are suitable substrates and action conditions in the food, adding a certain flavor enzyme can produce a certain flavor.

7. Fruit and vegetable preservation
When bottled orange juice is stored, it generates peroxides due to light exposure, which promotes oxidation and deteriorates the color and flavor. If glucose oxidase and catalase are used for deoxygenation, the original color, aroma and taste of the food can be maintained. The use of glucose oxidase can also prevent the fermentation deterioration of fruits during frozen storage and achieve the effect of preservation.