Authors : G.I. Onwuka and N.M. Edeh
Abstract: The effectiveness of hydrocooling, sundrying and evaporation in the preservation of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculent) were evaluated. The tomato samples were processed and stored for 28 days. The quality characteristics of the stored samples were monitored weekly by analyzing the moisture content, ascorbic acid, total acidity, total solid, protein content, sensory scores and total microbial load. The result showed that the hyrocooled tomato sample significantly retained appreciable moisture content of 93.92% up to the 21st day of storage whereas sundried and evaporated samples had very low moisture contents by the 28th day 16.38 and 36.46%, respectively. Hydrocooled sample also retained higher content of ascorbic acid (14.67%) by the end of the 21st day while the sundried and evaporated samples had barely 5.17 and 6.97%, respectively. In terms of sensory scores, both the hdrocooled and evaporated samples were found to be more acceptable. The hydrocooled tomato sample was found to have significantly higher microbial load (28.33�105 cfu g-1) than both eavaporated and sundried samples (10.00�105 and 10.33�105 cfu g-1, respectively) on the 21st day of storage and had completely spoilt by the 28th day. One therefore recommends the use of hydrocooling and evaporation as effective means of extending the shelf life of tomatoes.
G.I. Onwuka and N.M. Edeh , 2006. Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Some Processing Methods in the Preservation of Tomatoes. Journal of Food Technology, 4: 294-298.