Processamento do pedúnculo do caju em avançado estádio de maturação: desidratação osmótica e secagem para elaboração de passas de caju.

Abstract

Cashew peduncles were dehydrated osmotically in syrups with 50, 60 and 70ºBrix and dried at 50, 60 and 70ºC in a tray gas dryer Polidryer PD-25 and had their characteristics analysed as follow: physicochemical (reducing, total and non-reducing sugar; acidness, humidity, vitamin C, pH and soluble solids) in each stage of the processing; microbiological (molds, leavenings and fecal coliforms) of the cashew “in nature” and of the dry product; and sensorial (appearance, color, smell and taste) of the dried cashews. The equations proposed by Fick (with 1, 2 and 3 terms of the series), Cavalcanti-Mata and Page were used to adjust data of the drying and pre-drying through the computer programs Statistica 7.0, using non linear regression analyses with the numerical method of Rosembrock Quase Newton and Quase Newton. For the sensorial evaluation, it was used the computer programs Assistat 7.3 Beta by variance analysis factorial according to treatment (3ºBrix, 3 drying temperatures and 4 sensorial attributes) for the physicochemical the delineation entirely casualizado with 16 treatments and three repetitions. In view of the results, it can be concluded about the physicochemical characteristics that all the analyses were significant al the 1% level. The quantity of reducing, total and non-reducing sugar, acidness and soluble solids (ºBrix) increased with the drying from 6.35 to 42.96, from 10.17 to 72.91, from 3.81 to 46.38, from 1.11 to 4.93 and from 11.67 to 69.50; as for vitamin C and pH there was reduction from 121.99 to 72.29 mg/100g and from 4.07 to 3.27 respectively; in the microbiological analyses the cashews are within the standards established for consumption presenting 2x103 UFC/g for molds and leavenings and 102 NMP/ml for coliforms. As for the sensorial attributes cashews which were dehydrated osmotically in syrups with 70ºBrix and dried at 60ºC had the best appearance and color with an average 7.23 grade, which corresponds to “regularly liked” in hedonic scale. The same result was obtained about smell and taste attributes which case the dehydrated cashews in 70ºBrix and dried at 70ºC were preferred by the tasters with and average 7.10 grade. For the drying the equation which adjusted the most to the experimental data of the drying of the cashew with osmotic pre-treatment was the one proposed by Cavalcanti-Mata with R2=99.93% average.