Utilização de cobertura comestível na conservação pós-colheita de minimilho minimamente processado Use of edible coverage in post-harvest preservation of minimally processed baby corn

Baby-corns were obtained from maize cultivars Vivi, simple hybrid of sweet endosperm in experimental phase and AG 1051commercial double hybrid, common, were coated with cassava starch edible coverage, at 2 and 4%, and stored at 5 °C. A control treatment, without coating, was used under the same conditions. Physicochemical analyses were conducted every three days for nine days; and daily analyses of mass loss were conducted from the third to the twelfth day. It was observed a variation in acidity, in pH, and in the total soluble solids contents of the samples during storage. There was no influence by the cassava starch coverage on the acidity and on the pH of the babycorns obtained from cultivar Vivi at the end of storage; however, the acidity of cultivar AG 1051 increased. In general, it can be said that the coating process using cassava starch was effective in preserving the mass loss of baby-corn in cold storage of 5 °C. The performance of the experimental cultivar Vivi was similar to that of the commercial cultivar AG1051 for parameters such as mass loss (control and coverage at 4%) and acidity (coverage at 2 and 4%). On the other hand, it was better for SST parameter (coverage at 2 and 4%).