Production of esthetically pleasing care foods using enzyme diffusion during thawing

Abstract

Freeze-thaw enzyme impregnation methods can be used to produce esthetically pleasing care food. Such methods are difficult to implement in domestic or small-scale cooking facilities because they involve a vacuuming process. While investigating the diffusion of enzymes into foods during freezing and thawing, we found that external enzymes diffused into the food during thawing and softened the product. We therefore investigated the effects of pre-heating, freezing, thawing, and enzymatic preparation methods on promoting enzyme diffusion. The results clarified the optimal processing conditions for promoting enzyme diffusion. Softening seven commercially available vegetables resulted in all vegetables having firmness values of less than 5 × 10⁴ Pa. Unlike conventional freeze-thaw enzyme impregnation methods, enzyme impregnation by diffusion does not require a vacuum device and can be used for home cooking of care food that has retained its esthetic characteristics.