Hydrocooling on the shelf-life quality of cashew apples

This study aimed to determine the hydrocooling temperature of cashew apples and to verify the effect of hydrocooling on quality maintenance. Cashews (Anacardium occidentale L.) were hydrocooled by immersion in chlorinated water at 1, 3, 5 and 7 °C. Fruit were cooled in a refrigerator at 5 °C as controls. After treatments, all the fruit were stored at 5 °C for 15 d, when cooling rate, color, freshness, visual assessment, weight loss, and thermal properties were evaluated. Fruit hydrocooled at 1 and 7 °C were more sensitive to hydrocooling, with lower visual quality and wilting, and greater weight loss. The commercial temperature recommended for cashew apples hydrocooling is 5 °C. After determining the temperature to be used in hydrocooling, cashew apples were hydrocooled (HY) at 5 °C, and control treatment cooled in display cold room (CR) at 5 °C, both maintained under refrigeration for 25 d. During this period, and every five days, samples were taken for physical, physico-chemical and enzymatic analyses. HY fruit showed greater freshness, firmness, acidity, and less weight loss and vitamin C loss when compared with CR. An increase in the activity of PPO and POD enzymes was recorded with the increase in consumption of total phenols during storage, with higher values for CR The red color loss was constant during storage, regardless of the cooling method.