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. 2022 Oct 18:9:936192.
doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.936192. eCollection 2022.

Physical characterization of frozen fruits from eight cultivars of the North American pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

Bezalel Adainoo  1 , Brendan Crowell  2 , Andrew L Thomas  3 , Chung-Ho Lin  4 , Zhen Cai  4 , Patrick Byers  5 , Michael Gold  4 , Kiruba Krishnaswamy  1   2
Affiliations

Physical characterization of frozen fruits from eight cultivars of the North American pawpaw (Asimina triloba)

Bezalel Adainoo et al. Front Nutr. .

Abstract

Pawpaw (Asimina triloba [L.] Dunal) is an underutilized fruit native to North America. The fruit has a short shelf life, and browns and softens rapidly after harvesting. These characteristics present a challenge to the advancement of pawpaw as an economically viable specialty crop. This study evaluated the physical characteristics of frozen fruits from eight cultivars of the pawpaw fruit to establish the processing potential of pawpaw fruits. The results show that freeze-thaw cycle may have influenced the peel thickness, peel color, and pulp color of the fruits. Fruits of the Susquehanna cultivar had the highest fruit weight and pulp weight, making them potentially the most suitable for pulp processing. The pawpaw fruits had almost neutral pH ranging between 6.07 ± 0.21 and 6.47 ± 0.11, which could contribute to the rapid browning on exposure to air since an acidic pH is important for slowing enzymatic browning. To aid pawpaw juice extraction, enzymatic treatments may be necessary to increase the juice yield from the pulp. Overleese fruits may be the best for pawpaw juice production. These findings can aid in the selection of processing equipment and guide processors in their efforts to utilize pawpaw fruits to avoid postharvest and post-processing losses.

Keywords: Annonaceae; Asimin triloba; pawpaw; pawpaw processing; tropical fruit.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pictorial demonstration of how (A) fruit length and width and (B) thickness were measured.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dimensional characteristics of pawpaw fruits from different cultivars in the Lower and Upper orchards showing (A) fruit length, (B) fruit width, (C) fruit shape index, (D) fruit thickness, (E) peel thickness and (F) volume of fruits.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Weight of (A) fruits, (B) seeds, (C) peels, and (D) pulp of pawpaw fruits from different cultivars in the Lower and Upper orchards.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Physicochemical properties of pawpaw fruits from different cultivars in the Lower and Upper orchards showing (A) pH, (B) titratable acidity, (C) juice content, (D) pulp density, and (E) total soluble solids concentration.
Figure 5
Figure 5
DSC thermogram of pawpaw pulp showing (A) glass transition temperature and specific heat capacity, and (B) melting and thermal degradation temperatures.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Scanning electron microscope images showing pawpaw pulp close to the seeds (A–C) and pawpaw pulp further from the seeds (D–F) at magnifications of 100x, 500x, and 1000x.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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