Ohmic heating pretreatment accelerates black garlic processing

• Published in: Food science & technology 2021-11, Vol.151, p.112218, Article 112218
• Main Authors: Ríos-Ríos, K.L., Gaytán-Martínez, M., Rivera-Pastrana, D.M., Morales-Sánchez, E., Villamiel, M., Montilla, A., Mercado-Silva, E.M., Vázquez-Barrios, M.E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 5-Hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde; Black garlic; Fructan hydrolyses; Ohmic heating; Sensory quality
• ISSN: 0023-6438; 1096-1127
• DOI: 10.1016/j.lwt.2021.112218

Black garlic (BG) is obtained by the Maillard reaction under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity. This study describes the traditional processing (TT-BG) and the use of ohmic heating (OH) as pre-treatment (OH-BG) to improve time processing. Physicochemical composition and sensory properties were of particular interest in this study. The OH as a pretreatment causes the hydrolysis of fructans to fructose, which are degraded during storage under traditional treatment conditions (70 °C/94% RH) through the Maillard reaction causing the faster formation of compounds responsible for the color of black garlic compared to black garlic without pre-treatment. This reaction cuts down the time to attain the characteristic color of black garlic from 30 to 12 days. The 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (HMF) content was 3.6 times higher in OH-BG than in TT-BG. The polyphenol content and antioxidant capacity did not show differences between TT-BG and OH-BG, but their levels were superior to commercial sample. Both products (OH-BG and TT-BG) were sweet (36.8 and 31.6 °Bx, respectively) and had an excellent organoleptic acceptance (75 and 70%). These results highlight the potential of ohmic heating pretreatment in reducing the time to obtain good quality BG. •OH pre-treatment reduces BG-time processing from 30 to 12 days.•Flavor and general acceptability were better evaluated in OH pre-treated BG.•OH-BG samples have more polyphenols and antioxidant capacity than commercial ones.•OH non-thermal effect facilitates the hydrolysis of fructans to fructose in the time.