Blanching of vegetables for freezing: which indicator enzyme to choose

Abstract

A review article assesses the selection of an appropriate vegetable enzyme as a potential indicator to optimize blanching processing conditions. Such enzymes control 4 different areas of vegetable quality: flavor, texture, color, and nutritional value. Topics include: criteria for selecting an indicator enzyme; problems with the use of peroxidase; enzymatic aroma development; heat stabilities of green pea enzymes; and the advantages of lipoxygenase. A rapid assay procedure for lipoxygenase is detailed, and results with various vegetables are presented.(wz)