Effect of Blanching and Drying on Pectin Constitutents and Related Characteristics of Dehydrated Peaches

The effects of sulfuring, blanching, dehydration, and storage (of dehydrated fruits), on the pectic constitutents and other characteristics of peaches are reported. Adequate blanching stabilized pectins of the dehydrated peaches so higher rehydration capacity and lower rehydration losses were observed after 5 min blanching. Increase in degradation was observed in nonblanched or 1.5 min heat-treated fruits, which resulted in lower rehydration capacity. A significant correlation was found between the contents of total pectin and protopectin fractions and the firmness or rehydration ratio of the peaches. Thus, pectin, one of the major cell-wall and intercellular tissue components, plays a significant role in determining the textural-structural characteristics of dehydrated fruits.