Dried Beetroots: Optimization of the Osmotic Dehydration Process and Storage Stability.

In this study, beetroots were osmotically dehydrated in sugar beet molasses. The input parameters of the drying process were varied: temperature (20 °C, 40 °C, and 60 °C), time (1 h, 3 h, and 5 h), and concentration of sugar beet molasses (40%, 60%, and 80%). Basic quality indicators were determined for the dried beetroot samples: dry matter content, water loss, solid gain, mineral and betaine content, and phenols and flavonoids, as well as antioxidant potential. After optimizing the results, favorable drying parameters were selected: temperature 60 °C, molasses concentration 70%, and processing time 5 h. According to the optimal drying conditions, the beetroots were dried and stored at 4 °C for 28 days. Half of the dried samples were coated with an edible biopolymer coating based on Camelina sativa oilcake, while the other half of the samples remained uncoated. The sustainability study aimed to confirm the effects of the biopolymer coating on the quality and sustainability of the osmotically dried beetroots.

The possible application of edible pumpkin oil cake film as pouches for flaxseed oil protection.

Lipid oxidation in fatty food products presents serious challenge, significantly limiting their shelf-life. One of the possible approaches to deal with it is use of high-barrier or active packaging. Oxidation affects the formation of potentially toxic aldehydes through the degradation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, reducing the nutritive value of food, and leads to significant changes in sensory properties. For fatty food products packing, biopolymer packaging materials may provide good alternative to plastic, due to competitive barrier properties to gases, their natural origin and biodegradability. In this paper, composite pumpkin oil cake (PuOC) and duplex pumpkin oil cake/maize zein films (PuOC/MZ) were prepared. Potential protective effects PuOC-based pouches were tested for packing fatty food products, and flaxseed oil was used as a model food system. Results showed that PuOC-based films ensure good oxidative stability and less satisfactory sensory quality of oil, without significance changes in oil composition.