The impact of home freezing on the sensory characteristics of ready-to-use leafy vegetables

BACKGROUND: Owing to the increasing trend of consumption of ready-to-use leafy vegetables, the necessity of determining the best conditions for their frozen storage and the considerable impact of freezing on their sensory attributes, research was carried out to determine the best freezing temperature and storage time for a mixture of Allium ampeloprasum, Lepidium sativum and Stureia hortensis. RESULTS: The results for freezing temperature at three different storage times showed that colour and overall acceptability at -18 degrees C were always, ranked first (P < 0.05), while taste at -18 degrees C was ranked first on days 120 and 150. The results for frozen storage time at three different temperatures indicated that colour, taste and acceptability were not significantly different. CONCLUSION: Overall, the results of this research indicated that the sensory attributes of leafy vegetables during 180 days of frozen storage were affected mainly by freezing temperature rather than frozen storage time. (C) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry