Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables

This invaluable book furnishes exhaustive, single coverage on Industrial Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables and much more. Food preservation is an action or a method of maintaining foods at a desired level of properties or nature for their maximum benefits. In general, each step of handling, processing, storage, and distribution affects the characteristics of food, which may be desirable or undesirable. Thus, understanding the effects of each preservation method and handling procedure on foods is critical in food processing. The processing of food is no longer as simple or straightforward as in the past. It is now moving from an art to a highly interdisciplinary science. A number of new preservation techniques are being developed to satisfy current demands of economic preservation and consumer satisfaction in nutritional and sensory aspects, convenience, absence of preservatives, low demand of energy, and environmental safety. Better understanding and manipulation of these conventional and sophisticated preservation methods could help to develop high-quality, safe products by better control of the processes and efficient selection of ingredients. Food processing needs to use preservation techniques ranging from simple to sophisticated; thus, any food process must acquire requisite knowledge about the methods, the technology, and the science of mode of action. Keeping this in mind, this book has been developed to discuss the fundamental and practical aspects of most of the food preservation methods important to practicing industrial and academic food scientists, technologists, and engineers. Innovative technology in preservation is being developed in the food industry that can extend shelf life; minimize risk; is environment friendly; or can improve functional, sensory, and nutritional properties. The large and ever-increasing number of food products and new preservation techniques available today creates a great demand for an up-to-date Industrial Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables. This book emphasizes practical, cost-effective, and safe strategies for implementing preservation techniques and dissects the exact mode or mechanisms involved in each preservation method by highlighting the effect of preservation methods on food properties. This book will be an invaluable resource for practicing and research food technologists, engineers, and scientists, and a valuable text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in food, agriculture/biological science, and engineering. Written by experts related resource person, the Industrial Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables is an indispensable resource for agricultural, food scientists and technologists, postharvest technologists, and upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines.