Preservatives
.6 Fruit sugar preserves technology; jams, jellies, marmalade, fruit paste
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As a overall rule of thumb, a sugar concentration of about 60% in finished or processed fruit products generally insures their preservation. Preservation is not only determined by the osmotic pressure of sugar solutions but also by the water activity values in the liquid phase, which can be lowered by sugar addition; and by evaporation down to 0.848 aw; this value however does not protect products from mould and osmophile yeast attack.
Maximum saccharose concentration that can be achieved in the liquid phase of the product is 67.89%; however higher total sugar quantities (up to 70-72%) found in products are explained by an increased reducing sugar solubility resulting from saccharose inversion.
8.6.1 Jams
The preservation of fruit by jam making is a familiar process carried out on a small scale by housewives in many parts of the world. Factory jam making has become a highly complex operation, where strict quality control procedures are employed to ensure a uniform product, but the manufacturing operations employed are in essence the same as those employed in the house.
Fresh or pre-cooked fruit is boiled with a solution of cane or beet sugar until sufficient water has been evaporated to give a mixture which will set to a gel on cooling and which contains 32-34% water.
Gel formation is dependent on the presence in the fruit of the carbohydrate pectin, which at a pH of 3.2 - 3.4 and in the presence of a high concentration of sugar, has the property of forming a viscous semi-solid.
During jam boiling, all micro-organisms are destroyed within the product, and if it is filled hot into clean receptacles which are subsequently sealed, and then inverted so that the hot jam contacts the lid surface, spoilage by micro-organisms will not take place during storage.
The composition of jam made from stone fruit and berry fruit is shown in Table 8.6.1. About
Contents - [pic]Previous - Next[pic]
As a overall rule of thumb, a sugar concentration of about 60% in finished or processed fruit products generally insures their preservation. Preservation is not only determined by the osmotic pressure of sugar solutions but also by the water activity values in the liquid phase, which can be lowered by sugar addition; and by evaporation down to 0.848 aw; this value however does not protect products from mould and osmophile yeast attack.
Maximum saccharose concentration that can be achieved in the liquid phase of the product is 67.89%; however higher total sugar quantities (up to 70-72%) found in products are explained by an increased reducing sugar solubility resulting from saccharose inversion.
8.6.1 Jams
The preservation of fruit by jam making is a familiar process carried out on a small scale by housewives in many parts of the world. Factory jam making has become a highly complex operation, where strict quality control procedures are employed to ensure a uniform product, but the manufacturing operations employed are in essence the same as those employed in the house.
Fresh or pre-cooked fruit is boiled with a solution of cane or beet sugar until sufficient water has been evaporated to give a mixture which will set to a gel on cooling and which contains 32-34% water.
Gel formation is dependent on the presence in the fruit of the carbohydrate pectin, which at a pH of 3.2 - 3.4 and in the presence of a high concentration of sugar, has the property of forming a viscous semi-solid.
During jam boiling, all micro-organisms are destroyed within the product, and if it is filled hot into clean receptacles which are subsequently sealed, and then inverted so that the hot jam contacts the lid surface, spoilage by micro-organisms will not take place during storage.
The composition of jam made from stone fruit and berry fruit is shown in Table 8.6.1. About