Obtenção de cajá em pó utilizando um secador por atomização: caracterização física, físico-química e sensorial do pó.

Abstract

Assays of cajá pulp in spray dryer were realized to obtain cajá powder. The equipment inlet air temperature was 150ºC and the outlet air temperature was 93ºC. The pulp feeding flow was 0,4 L/h, the drying air temperature was 0,6 m3/min, and the compressed air flow, for atomization, was 30 L/min, and the nozzle aperture was 0,7mm. To obtain cajá powder in the spray dryer, it were prepared emulsions containing cajá pulp with 15% of maltodextrin; 10% of maltodextrin and 5% of modified starch and 7,5% of maltodextrin and 7,5% of modified starch. Physical-chemical analysis of the cajá pulp with and without microencapsulatings and the cajá powder were realized. Sensorial analysis of the reconstituted pulp from cajá powder, the in natura product, and the juice obtained from the pulp dilution in sucrose solution, were also realized. The physical-chemical analyses were: moisture, total of solids, ashes, ascorbic acid (C vitamin), acidity, pH, Brix, reducing, non-reducing and total sugars. Isotherms of cajá powder were realized in the temperatures from 10 to 50ºC, and its color analysis by colorimetric method. In the sensorial analysis, the samples were evaluated by hedonic scale. From the obtained data in this work, It could be concluded that the addition of microencapsulatings changes the physical-chemical properties of the cajá pulp; the formulation which obtained the sensorial characteristics near the in natura pulp and the juice from its dilution was the cajá powder microencapsulated with 15% of maltodextrin, and the increase of the modified starch is related with the darkening and the changes of the sensorial characteristics of the cajá pulp and its juice; the cajá powder microencapsulated with 15% of maltodextrin conserves better the color and the appearance, approaching from the in natura characteristics and for the other evaluated parameters (flavor and savor) in the pulp and in the juice, it wasn’t find any significative difference between the studied formulations. In the water activity study, the Henderson model modified by Cavalcanti-Mata best represents the experimental data for the cajá powder microencapsulated with 15% of maltodextrin and microencapsulated with 7,5% of maltodextrin + 7,5% of modified starch, while the modified Oswin model best represents the experimental data of the microencapsulated cajá powder with 10% of maltodextrin + 5% of modified starch. The cajá powder microencapsulated in different studied formulations has high higroscopicity, that implies in use of suitable packages that prevent contact of the cajá powder with the environment.