Chemical Characteristics of Fresh Pineapple and Coated Pineapple Products

News source: MARDI, Malaysia
For further information, E-mail: hasimah@mardi.my, 2003-12-01

Frozen Coated Pineapple

Pineapple variety `Gandul' was processed using coating and freezing methods in the development of frozen coated pineapple products. The performance of four types of coatings (breadcrumb, oatbran, wheatgerm, and unprocessed wheatbran) as well as the effect of processing on the physico-chemical, nutritional and organoleptic properties of the products were studied. Physical characteristics of fresh Gandul pineapple are: length 17.44 ± 0.86 cm, width 12.54 ± 0.63 cm, circumference 40.54 ± 1.27, cm and weight 1.60 ± 0.17 kg.

Fat and Vitamin Content of Coated Pineapple

Fat contents of frozen coated pineapple ranged between 0.31-1.65% which were significantly higher than the fresh or blanched Gandul. This indicated that the batter and coating materials contributed to the fat content in the frozen coated products. Compared to uncooked beef burger patty (15.8%) or commercial uncooked chicken nuggets (30.4%), the fat contents of these frozen coated products were much lower. Among the frozen coated products developed, breadcrumb-coated product had the highest carbohydrate and energy values. Oatbran, wheatgerm, and wheatbran-coated products had higher values of vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, iron and total dietary fiber compared to breadcrumb-coated product.

Coated Pineapple a Healthy Snack

The pineapple coated products are convenient healthy snacks being high in dietary fibre (>6%) and provide most of the vitamins and minerals. They are healthy alternatives to meat-based nuggets and an alternative way to introduce more fruits into the diet especially for children. The breadcrumb coated products can be baked or fried while the other three variants are suitable for baking. Baked coated pineapple has lower fat content than fried coated pineapple and as such is suitable as healthy snacks for the family. Packed in high density polyethylene, the products can be kept for at least one year at 20oC.

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