SHELF-LIFE AND QUALITY ASPECTS OF CHILLED COOKED ARTICHOCKS (CYNARA CARDUNCULUS SUBSP SCOLYMUS)

Chilled-cooked foods can be defined as perishable foods which have undergone a mild heat or pasteurisation process and which, to extend the time during which they remain wholesome, are intended to be kept in the temperature range of 0-4 degrees C. Products include pre-prepared meals, pasta, rice, vegetable, soups and sauces. In this work the suitability and shelf-life of different Artichockes (Cynara cardunculus subsp. Scolymus) cultivars (Violetto di Provenza, Violetto di Sicilia, Madrigal e Harmony) to chilled cooked production was tested to set up a technological process and to formulate a new commercial item. There were individuated the best solutions of time and temperature of treatment to preserve sensory quality and microbiological safety. There were selected some enzymatic markers to describe the main product alterations: Polyphenoloxidase (PPO, E. C. 1.14.18.1), Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, EC 4.3.1.5) related to browning, and Pectinmethylesterase (PME, EC 3.1.1.11), Polygalacturonase (PG, EC 3.2.1.15) related to softening. There was selected the most suitable cultivar on the basis of the previous biological (enzymatic) and chemical-sensorial markers (PPO, PAL; PME,; PG,) analyzed on raw plant material before processing and on processed vegetable during shelf-life.