Cucumber was sliced and soaked in solutions containing 10% NaCl (N),20% sugar alcohol (S) and their combination(N+S)at4°C. The hardness, fine structure, external appearance, permeation of the soaking solution, and moisture content of different parts of the cucumber flesh were measured.
The hardness of the outside was reduced by soaking in the N solution, whereas that of the inside was increased in the S solution. In the N + S solution, both these effects proceeded simultaneously.
The damage to the cell structure of the flesh accompanied the decrease in hardness.
The most marked shrinkage of the outside occurred after soaking in the N + S solution. NaCl permeated rapidly through the outside part and penetrated the inside. The Sorbitol permeated relatively more slowly, resulting in an imbalance of the S concentration from the outside to the inside.
Soaking in the N + S solution resulted in a rapid reduction in moisture content from the outside inwards. This reduction in moisture content was relatively slow in the N + S solutions, resulting in an imbalance in the moisture content of the flesh.
