Matrix-assisted concentration and microencapsulation of lime juice

MATRIX-ASSISTED CONCENTRATION AND MICROENCAPSULATION OF LIME JUICE Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011 Graciela W. Padua, Adviser Lime juice is widely used in American and international cuisine for its characteristic flavor and high taste impact. It is mostly used as a flavoring agent but also as a preservative. Lime juice is not stable upon storage. Flavor deterioration is readily apparent. Thus, developing methods to preserve its flavor is an important goal. Dehydration is widely used as a food preservation method. Spray drying is the most common method used in the food industry to dry fruit juices and obtain powders. Spray drying yields free flowing powders; however, it does not maintain the original flavor. Thus, the goal of this work was to develop a process to render lime juice as a free flowing dry product with an authentic fruit flavor. The main objectives were (1) to investigate the potential of a novel matrix-assisted process to obtain a free flowing dry product; (2) to investigate the effectiveness of zein as an encapsulation matrix for citrus juice flavor components; (3) to characterize the microstructure of resulting dried juices; (4) to evaluate the sensory attributes of obtained dried juices. Results showed that the matrix-assisted process to concentrate and encapsulate lime juice yielded a free flowing dry product. Zein was found useful to effectively encapsulate lime juice components. The formation of encapsulated micro-clusters was observed by SEM and bright field microscopy. Sensory attributes of the matrix-assisted process were investigated by descriptive analysis and compared to commercially available samples. Lime juice obtained through the matrix-assisted process showed a higher intensity of fresh lime flavor compared to commercial samples. The matrix-assisted process was considered to produce a lime juice powder with better flavor characteristics than other dehydration processes.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Food Science & Human Nutrition

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2011

Author dc:creator

• Guardiola, Lia V.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Padua, Graciela W.

• Concentration
• microencapsulation
• lime
• zein
• food dehydration.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2011 Lia V. Guardiola

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/26381

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/26381