Cell wall components, cell morphology, and mechanical properties of peach slices submitted to drying

Abstract

Through the observation of cell wall components and morphology, the effects of puffing drying on mechanical behavior were analyzed. Decrease in viscosity and irregular pore distribution was observed. At 95.0 °C, increase in pressure did not result in an expansion force significant enough to damage cell structure to affect mechanical properties. At 105.0 and 115.0 °C, puffing pressure resulted in bigger pore emergence and a solidified structure of cell wall, and induced an enhancement of elastic modulus and a decline in viscosity index. Thus, high expansion forces can promote changes in mechanical properties and solidification of cell wall skeletal structure.

Keywords:

• Peach slices
• puffing drying
• cell wall components
• cell morphology
• mechanical properties

Additional information

Funding

The authors are thankful for the support of the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2017YFD0400900), the National Natural Science Foundations of China (No. 31872901), and the grants from China Agriculture Research System (CARS-30-5-03).