ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC: BLANCHING
INTRODUCTION
Blanching is a kind of pasteurization which is generally used to
inactivate enzymatic activity in fruits and vegetables. It is a
pretreatment that is normally carried out between the preparation of
raw material and later operation. It is a common process when the food
product is kept frozen, frozen storage would not be completely arrest
enzymatic activity. If blanching does not precede freezing, then the
product held in the frozen state for many months, will slowly develop
off- flavors and off- colors. Blanching is combined with peeling and
cleaning of food to reduce energy consumption, space and equipment
cost.

Some food materials like onion and green pepper do not need
blanching but majority of food products requires blanching. Rapid
heating to a mild temperature, held for a pre- set temperature and
rapid cooling to ambient temperature achieves adequate enzymatic
inactivation. If too little is blanching it is ineffective and too high causes
damage to the internal tissues of the food product.

If the enzymes such as catalase and Peroxidase, which is heat stable

found in vegetables are destroyed in blanching, then other enzymes
which is responsible for deterioration are also inactivated.
 CONTENTS

Factors affecting Blanching :

 The size and shape of the food material;
 the thermal conductivity of the food;
 the blanching temperature and method of heating;
 the convective heat transfer coefficient;
 Typical time/temperature combinations vary from 1 to 15 min at
70 -100 degree Celsius.

Equipment used in Blanching

1. Steam blanchers

The steam blanchers are simplest one which consists of mesh

conveyor that carries food through a steam atmosphere in a
tunnel. Speed of the conveyor and the length of the tunnel
control the residence time of the food. The efficiency of energy
consumption is about 19% when water sprays are used at the
outlet and inlet to condense escaping steam. Food enters through
rotary valves or hydrostatic seals to reduce steam losses and
increase energy efficiency to around 27%.venturi valves are used
to reuse the steam.
 2. Water blanching
The temperature range of hot water blanching is 70-100 degree Celsius.
It allows processing at lower temperature. There are water blanchers
that use a screw or chain conveyors to transport the product inside the
tank, where hot water is added. Others use a rotary drum to immerse
and convey the product. Water is usually heated indirectly with steam
in a heat exchanger. Therefore steam quality does not need to be food-
grade. Water blanching requires longer processing times, results in
increased leaching of minerals and nutrients such as vitamins, and
produces effluents with large biological oxygen Demand.

3. Gas blanching
Hot gas blanching uses combustion of flue gases with addition of
steam to increase humidity and prevent product dehydration. This
type of blanching has the advantage of reducing waste
production. This approach is not currently used in industry.
Advantages and limitations of steam blanchers
Advantages
 Smaller loss of water- soluble components and higher product yield.
 Smaller volumes of effluent and lower disposal costs than water
blanchers, particularly with air cooling instead of water.
 Better energy efficiency.
 Better retains product color, flavor and texture.
Limitations
 Limited cleaning of foods so washers are also required.
 Uneven blanching if food is piled too high on the conveyor.
 Some loss of mass in the food.
 Larger, more complex equipment with higher maintenance costs.
 More difficult to clean.

Advantages and limitations of hot- water blanchers

Advantages
 Lower cost capital cost than steam blanchers.
 More uniform product heating.
 Use less floor space.
Disadvantages
 Large volumes of dilute effluent result in higher costs for both
purchase of water and effluent treatment.
 Risk of contamination of foods by thermophilic bacteria.
 Turbulence may cause physical damage to some products.
Effects on food

Flavor
Blanching inactivate the enzymes which is responsible for off-flavor
development directly or indirectly in food materials. Lipoxygenase is
one of the main enzymes among them. Sometimes blanching increases
flavor retention, and sometimes it removes undesirable bitter flavors
from the product.
Texture
Blanching can cause undesirable softening of the tissue of the food
product. A combination of low temperature and the use of calcium
reduce this undesirable effect. Texture assessment of the effects of
blanching includes sensory characterization of firmness, crispness, and
crunchiness, and instrumental measurements such as cutting energy,
and maximum shear force.
Color
Due to the use of high temperature of blanching causes destruction of
some pigment. It causes change in actual color of the food product.
Nutritional value
Due to blanching the nutritional content of the food decreases. Vit-C is
the most important enzyme which is destroyed more because of its
high solubility and heat susceptibility.
Conclusion
Blanching is a mild heat treatment process. It in-activate the enzymes in
the food materials. We can do blanching in different ways according to
its shape and size. Lipoxygenase and polyphenoloxygenase are the two
enzymes which are inactivate during this process. It is pre- heat
treatment process. High temperature causes undesirable softening,
color change etc. Low temperature can produce uneven blanching. So
blanching is the main function of temperature. Only a correct
temperature can cause desirable blanching.
Reference
1. Jose I. Reyes De Corcuera; Ralph P. Cavalieri; Joseph R. Powers.
Blanching of foods.
2. P. J. Fellows. Food processing Technology (principles and
practice).Third edition.
3. Norman N. Potter; Joseph H. Hotchkiss. Food science. Fifth
edition.