LWT - Food Science and Technology 53 (2013) 547e554

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LWT - Food Science and Technology

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Comparison of two jam making methods to preserve the quality of colored carrots
Massimiliano Renna a, b, Bernardo Pace a, Maria Cefola a, *, Pietro Santamaria b, Francesco Serio a,
Maria Gonnella a
a
Institute of Sciences of Food Production, CNR e National Research Council of Italy, Via G. Amendola, 122/O, 70126 Bari, Italy
b
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Science, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Via Amendola, 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this study, carrot jams were developed using either precooked vegetable (common method) or short
Received 17 January 2012 cooking times (mild method). Jams were prepared using four carrot types: a commercial one and three
Received in revised form local landraces (orange, purple and yellow). The parameters assessed were total phenols, antioxidant
28 June 2012
activity, b-carotene, potassium content, color and sensory evaluation. Mild method caused lower color
Accepted 24 March 2013
differences than common method, when comparing the jams to raw carrots. Antioxidant activity, total
phenols and potassium content loss were also lower in mild method. Both methods improved b-carotene
Keywords:
retention in jams. Following sensory analysis, products obtained by mild method showed the best scores
Mild method
Antioxidant activity
for taste and overall acceptability, with the highest scores being registered for purple jam. In particular,
Total phenols high correlations between antioxidant activity, total phenols and purple products (both raw products and
Sensory analysis jams) were emphasized by principal component analysis. In conclusion, the mild method described in
Principal component analysis this paper helps to preserve the overall quality of perishable vegetables, such as local carrots.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction 2011; Wicklund et al., 2004). Nevertheless, jams can also be pro-
duced from vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes,
Currently, there is considerable demand for fruits and vegeta- cucumbers and pumpkins (European Commission, 2001).
bles because they are considered rich sources of some essential The traditional jam market has been stable during the last few
dietary micronutrients and dietary fiber, and more recently they years as a consequence of changes in consumption practices and
have been recognized as important sources of a wide array of the presence of alternative or new products on the market
phytochemicals that may benefit human health (Yahia, 2010). (Grigelmo-Miguel & Martín-Belloso, 1999). Accordingly, the jam
Nevertheless, many such products are seasonal and perishable; industry needs to improve its competitiveness and develop new
their nutritional value and taste are at their best directly after products, such as vegetable jams, which may well be a way of
harvesting, decreasing as time elapses until the food is spoilt achieving this objective.
(Osvald & Stirn, 2008). Carrot (Daucus carota L.) is one of the most ideal vegetables, due
The seasonality and perishability of vegetables explain the need to its versatility in culinary uses and its phytochemical contents,
to apply preservation technologies (Giannakourou & Taoukis, especially phenols (Babic, Amiot, Ngugen-The, & Aubert, 1993),
2003), including jam making. This technology is very typical in polyacetylenes (Hansen, Purup, & Christensen, 2003; Kidmose
fruit preservation (Kansci, Koubala, & Lape, 2003). According to et al., 2004) and carotenoid compounds (Block, 1994). The appre-
European Union Council Directive 2001/113/EC, jams are a mixture, ciable levels of different compounds make carrot a functional food
brought to a suitable gelled consistency, of sugars, with the pulp with significant healthy properties (Hager & Howard, 2006) and
and/or puree of one or more kinds of fruit and water. For the fruit anticancer activity (Sharma, Karki, Thakur, & Attri, 2011). Moreover,
processing industry, this technology is very common, so many some studies have demonstrated that colored carrots, especially
studies have reported the effects of jam making on different fruits purple and black roots, have higher nutritional and healthy quali-
(Basu & Shivare, 2010; Grigelmo-Miguel & Martín-Belloso, 1999; ties compared to the commercial type (Alasalvar, Grigor, Zhang,
Rababah et al., 2011; Watanabe, Yoshimoto, Okada, & Nomura, Quantick, & Shahidi, 2001; Cefola, Pace, Renna, Santamaria,
Signore, & Serio, 2012; Grassmann, Schnitzler, & Habegger, 2007;
Kirca, Ozkan, & Cemeroglu, 2006).
* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: þ39 080 5929310/9374. Considering these interesting characteristics and the absence of
E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Cefola). data on vegetable jams, the objective of the present study was to

0023-6438/$ e see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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548 M. Renna et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 53 (2013) 547e554

evaluate the different technologies used in fruit preservation on

(a) (b)
colored carrots.
For jam making, some authors recommend precooking fruits and Raw carrots
Raw carrots
vegetables in order to obtain a puree (Dutta, Dutta, Raychaudhuri, &
Chakraborty, 2006; Gliemmo, Latorre, Gerschenson, & Campos, Washing and peeling
2009; Porretta & Porretta, 1999, chap. 7; Provesi, Dias, & Amante, Washing and peeling
2011), while others describe methods of jam making using raw Centrifugal processing
puree or pulp (Rababah et al., 2011; Wicklund et al., 2004). In Slicing
summary, high-texture fruits and vegetables (such as apple, pear, (fibrous pulp) (juice)
pumpkin, quince) are precooked before jam making, while low- Boiling (30’)
texture products (such as cherry, fig, orange, strawberry) are Mixing
generally processed in the raw state. Starting from this remark, the Homogenizing
aims of the present work were: i) to apply and compare the two jam
Adding lemon juice
making methods, which differ mainly according to whether they Adding sucrose
include a precooking step, using colored carrots; ii) to evaluate the
effect of these two methods on the consumer acceptability of carrot
Adding sucrose and Fruttapec®
Cooking (15’)
jams; iii) to evaluate the preservation in jams of the main quality
traits of raw carrots. Cooking (5’)
Packaging
The general goal was to obtain carrot jams that retain the
nutritional quality of the vegetable and also appeal to consumers. Packaging
Fig. 1. Flow chart of common (a) and mild method (b); (’): minutes of cooking or
2. Materials and methods boiling.

2.1. Materials
Carrots were washed, peeled and processed through a centrif-
One commercial carrot type (‘Presto’) and three local landraces ugal juicer (Kenwood JE560, Kenwood Electronics Italy, Milan) to
(orange, purple and yellow) were collected from a local farm shred the carrots and obtain the two components (fibrous pulp and
located in Southern Italy, and transported to the laboratory in juice), which subsequently were mixed in order to obtain a raw
refrigerated containers. Sixty carrots (4 carrot types  5 roots  3 puree. Lemon juice was immediately added to reduce oxidation;
replications) were analyzed as raw products. The same carrots were then, Fruttapec 3:1Ò and sucrose were added under manual
used to prepare 24 jam samples (4 carrot types  2 processing agitation and the mixture was cooked (105.0  1.0  C) for 5 min.
technologies  3 replications), analyzed as detailed below. Frutta-
pec 3:1Ò was purchased from Cameo, Desenzano del Garda (BS), 2.3. Respiration rate, temperature coefficient (Q10), firmness and
Italy. Sucrose was purchased from Euro Sfir Italia, Foggia, Italy. dry weight
Lemon juice was purchased from Star, Agrate Brianza (MB), Italy.
The respiration rate (mL CO2 kg1 h1) of raw carrots was
2.2. Jam making measured using a closed system at 0, 4, and 20  C (Kader, 1992).
Fresh roots (about 300 g for each carrot type) were put into 6 L
Carrot jams were obtained by two methods (named common sealed plastic jars, where carbon dioxide was allowed to accumu-
and mild), which differentiated for the ingredients and for pro- late until the value of a standard gas mixture containing carbon
cessing. In both methods the content of the carrot pulp incorpo- dioxide and nitrogen (0.1e99.9% Sapio, Milan, Italy) was reached.
rated was over 60%, in order to obtain a carrot “extra jam” Then, a 1 mL gas sample was taken from the head space through a
(European Commission, 2001) with a reduced sugar content. rubber septum and injected into the gas chromatograph (Agilent
After processing, jams were hot-packed at 85  C (Rababah et al., p200 micro GC, Santa Clara, CA, USA) equipped with dual columns
2011) in sterilized jars and immediately sealed with a cover to and a thermal conductivity detector. Carbon dioxide was analyzed
reduce the inner air pressure after cooling. To preserve nutritional with a retention time of 16 s and a total run time of 120 s on a 10 m
value, according to Wicklund et al. (2004), samples were stored at PPU column at a constant temperature of 70  C.
4  C until the time of analysis, carried out as described in the Q10 values were also calculated for each carrot type using the
following paragraphs. formula reported by Labuza (1982). Firmness was measured on
whole peeled raw roots with a machine texture analyzer (Zwick-
2.2.1. Common method Line Z0.5, Zwick/Roel, Ulm, Germany), using a puncture method
Common method (Fig. 1(a)) was obtained using as ingredients and expressed in Newton (N).
fresh carrots (667 g kg1) and commercial sucrose (333 g kg1). Next, in order to measure dry weight, chopped carrots and jam
As showed in Fig. 1(a), carrots were washed, peeled, cut into were maintained in a forced-draft oven at 65  C until constant
2 cm thick slices, and boiled (98.5  1.0  C) in tap water for 30 min. weight was reached.
After cooking, carrots were homogenized for 2e3 min, using a food
processor (Bravosimac FP 500, De’Longhi Appliances, Treviso, Italy), 2.4. Determination of total phenols, antioxidant activity and b-
obtaining a carrot puree. Finally, sucrose was added to the carrot carotene
puree and this mixture was cooked (105.0  1.0  C) for 15 min.
The following extraction procedure was used for determining
2.2.2. Mild method both total phenols and antioxidant activity. Five grams of chopped
In mild method (Fig. 1(b)) ingredients used were fresh carrots carrots or jams were homogenized in a methanol: water solution
(627.5 g kg1), commercial sucrose (274.5 g kg1), lemon juice (80:20) for 1 min, and then centrifuged at 5  C and 6440  g for
(78.5 g kg1) and Fruttapec 3:1Ò (19.5 g kg1), as pectin source. 5 min.
 M. Renna et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 53 (2013) 547e554 549

Total phenols were determined according to the method of 2.8. Data analysis
Singleton and Rossi (1965), using a UV-1800 Shimadzu spectro-
photometer (Shimadzu, Kyoto, Japan). Total phenols were reported For a visual analysis of the data, principal component analysis
in milligrams of gallic acid (GA) equivalents per 100 g1 fresh (PCA) (PRINCOMP procedure, SAS software, Cary, NC, USA) was
weight (fw). performed on mean centered and standardized (unit variance
Antioxidant assay was performed following the procedure scaled) data prior to analysis. The data matrix submitted to PCA was
described by Brand-Williams, Cuvelier, and Berset (1995) with made up of 12 observations e 3 products (raw carrots, common and
minor modifications. The diluted sample, 50 mL, was pipetted into mild jams)  4 carrot types (commercial carrot, orange, yellow and
0.95 mL of diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) solution to initiate the purple local landraces) e and 11 physicochemical variables e 4
reaction. The absorbance was read after 40 min at 515 nm. Trolox color parameters (L*, a*, b*, h ) and 7 chemical properties (Na, K, Mg,
was used as a standard and the antioxidant activity was reported in Ca, total phenols, antioxidant activity, b-carotene content). PCA was
milligrams of Trolox equivalents 100 g1 fw. applied in order to obtain an interpretable overview of the main
The AOAC method (AOAC, 2000) was used for determining information. To detect statistical significance, ANOVA was applied
b-carotene by a spectrophotometric assay. To obtain the calibration (GLM procedure, SAS software) and means were separated by the
curve, the b-carotene standard supplied by SigmaeAldrich (Milan, StudenteNewmaneKeuls (SNK) test.
Italy) was used. Next, the b-carotene content was calculated on the
base of the calibration curve and data were expressed as mg
3. Results and discussions
b-carotene 100 g1 fw.
3.1. Respiration rate, temperature coefficient (Q10), firmness and dry
2.5. Inorganic cation content weight of raw carrots

Sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium were determined Respiration rate, Q10, firmness and dry weight are presented in
on raw carrots or jams as reported by Serio, De Gara, Caretto, Leo, Table 1. Respiration rate was significantly higher in purple and
and Santamaria (2004) with minor modifications. Briefly, 25 g of yellow local landraces at 20  C. Measurement of respiration rate is
carrots or jams were homogenized with distilled water (1:4, w/v) in useful when investigating the physiology of many vegetables
a blender. The filtered solution was diluted and analyzed by ion (Kader, 1986). A continuously high rate of respiration is often
chromatography (Dionex model DX120; Dionex Corporation, Sun- associated with a shortened shelf life (Day, 1990). The Q10 value,
nyvale, CA) with a conductivity detector, using an IonPac CG12A which indicates the n-fold decrease in shelf life caused by a 10  C
pre-column and an IonPac CS12A separation column. temperature increase (Labuza, 1982), was significantly higher in all
local landraces, especially in the purple and yellow types. As re-
2.6. Color analysis ported by Kader (2002), Q10 is inversely correlated with shelf life.
These results were confirmed by firmness measurements. Com-
Color analysis of raw roots or jams was conducted with a mercial carrots showed a mean firmness 28% higher than local
colorimeter (CR-400, Konica Minolta, Osaka, Japan) equipped with landrace carrots (Table 1). This difference could be attributed to the
illuminant D65, in reflectance mode and in the CIE L* (lightness), a* higher dry weight of commercial types in comparison with orange,
(redness) b* (yellowness) color scale. Color was measured at five yellow and purple carrots (Table 1). All these results indicate that
points on each carrot surface or jam layer for a total of 50 mea- the local landrace carrots are perishable and difficult to store as raw
surements for each carrot or jam. Hue angle (h ¼ arctg b*/a*), from products.
primary a* and b* readings, was then calculated. The colorimeter
was calibrated with a standard reference having L*, a* and b* values 3.2. Antioxidant activity, total phenols, b-carotene and inorganic
of 97.55, 1.32 and 1.41, respectively. cation content of raw carrots and jams

2.7. Sensory evaluation of jam The antioxidant activity, total phenols, b-carotene and potas-
sium content of raw carrots and jams are shown in Fig. 2. Common
A selected group of 10 assessors (made up of 5 females and 5 method caused a reduction in antioxidant activity in all jams (from
males, aged between 24 and 50 years old), previously involved as 36% in purple jam to 92% in commercial jam) compared to raw roots
members of the trained descriptive analysis panel for jams, was (Fig. 2A). By contrast, mild method did not affect antioxidant
trained to describe the attributes of carrot jams. All evaluation
sessions were held in the laboratory at the Institute of Sciences of
Table 1
Food Production. The sensory evaluation of carrot jams was carried
Respiration rate (at 20, 4, 0  C), temperature coefficient (Q10), firmness and dry
out 2 days after jam making. Color, taste, odor, consistency, and weight of commercial and orange, purple and yellow local landraces at raw state
overall acceptability of each carrot jam were evaluated using a (n ¼ 3).
hedonic scale from 9 to 1 (9 ¼ like extremely, 8 ¼ like very much,
Carrot types Respiration rate Temperature Firmness Dry weight
7 ¼ like moderately, 6 ¼ like slightly, 5 ¼ neither like nor dislike, (mL CO2 kg1 h1) coefficient (N) (g 100 g1 fw)
4 ¼ dislike slightly, 3 ¼ dislike moderately, 2 ¼ dislike very much, (Q10)
Temperature ( C)
1 ¼ dislike extremely) (Basu & Shivare, 2010; Grigelmo-Miguel &
Martín-Belloso, 1999). All jams were presented to the panellists at 20 4 0

room temperature under normal lighting conditions in transparent Commercial 27.7b 8.8a 8.2a 1.2d 3.9a 13.8a
Orange 26.7b 6.5b 5.9b 3.6c 3.1b 8.3b
plastic glass coded with random, three-digit numbers. Each pan-
Purple 48.1a 8.1a 4.7c 6.7a 3.1b 7.9c
ellist evaluated 24 samples (4 carrot jams  3 replications  2 Yellow 45.9a 7.7ab 6.7b 5.1b 3.0b 8.4b
methods). The sensorial test was divided into sessions, in which the Significancea *** * *** *** ** ***
panellists evaluated 3e5 samples at a time, working in individual Same letters in the same column indicate that values are not significantly different
booths and drinking water for oral rinsing. The average value scores (P < 0.05).
a
of all sensory evaluations were used in the analysis. *Significant for P  0.05, **significant for P  0.01, ***significant for P  0.001.
550 M. Renna et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 53 (2013) 547e554

Antioxidant Activity (mg Trolox 100 g-1 fw) 60 A 80

B

Total Phenols (mg gallic acid 100 g-1 fw)

70
50
60
40
50

30 40

30
20
20
10
10

0 0
Raw Mild Traditional
40
C 3000 D Products

2500
β-carotene (mg 100 g fw)
-1

30
2000

K+ (mg kg-1 fw)

20 1500

1000
10
500

0 0
Raw Carrots Mild Jams Common Jams Raw Carrots Mild Jams Common Jams

Fig. 2. Antioxidant activity (A), total phenols (B), b-carotene content (C), and potassium content (D) of raw roots and jams obtained from commercial ( ), orange ( ), purple ( ), and
yellow ( ) carrots (n ¼ 3). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

activity in purple jam (Fig. 2A), whereas it led to a 44% increase in (commercial jams) and 300% in yellow and orange jams compared
antioxidant activity in yellow type and a 20% and 80% decrease, to raw roots. These results are in agreement with data reported by
respectively, in orange and commercial roots. Generally, mild Miglio, Chiavaro, Visconti, Fogliano, and Pellegrini (2008) on boiled
method caused lower antioxidant activity losses in all jams than carrots and also observed by Pinheiro Sant’Ana, Stringheta,
common method compared to raw carrots. The higher antioxidant Cardoso Brandão, and Cordeiro de Azeredo (1998). These authors
activity losses by common method could be attributed to the pro- concluded that boiling was the step that led to the greatest sta-
longed heat treatment of carrot tissues (Soto-Zamora, Yahia, Brecht, bility of b-carotene in commercial carrots compared to other
& Gardea, 2005) and by the absence of lemon juice, which in mild cooking methods. So, the boiling of carrots, before the final cooking
technology functioned as a possible protective ingredient against in common method, probably improved b-carotene retention in
oxidation (González-Molina, Moreno, & García-Viguera, 2009). jams.
As was the case for antioxidant activity, after jam making by Potassium content decreased in orange jam after mild method
mild method total phenols were also not significantly different (2617  408 mg kg1 fw in roots and 2105  29 mg kg1 fw in jam)
from the raw carrots in purple (67.6  0.91 mg GA 100 g1 fw in and increased by between 12% and 25% in commercial, yellow and
roots and 67.3  0.95 mg GA 100 g1 fw in jam) and yellow purple jams compared to raw carrots (Fig. 2D). By contrast, after
(16.4  1.18 mg GA 100 g1 fw in roots and 16.8  0.50 mg GA common method, potassium content decreased significantly by
100 g1 fw in jam) jams (Fig. 2B). They decreased by 12% and 43%, between 28% and 58% in all jams compared to raw carrots. Common
respectively, in orange and commercial jams compared to raw jam making method caused more severe potassium losses
roots. In contrast, after making by common method, total phenols compared to raw carrots than mild method, probably due to
decreased in all jams, from 46% to 56% in comparison to raw carrots. leaching during the boiling of carrot slices (Schroth, Allen,
This trend indicated that common method caused much more Schvaneveld, Hendricks, & Anderson, 1997). These results demon-
pronounced phenol losses compared to raw carrots than mild strated the great nutritional quality of jams obtained through mild
method. According to Gonçalves, Pinheiro, Abreu, Brandao, and method compared to jams obtained through common method.
Silva (2010), the higher phenol losses caused by common jam Apart from potassium, the content of other cations, Naþ, Mg2þ, and
making method could be attributed to its longer cooking times. Ca2þ was not so high in raw carrots, showing average values of
There was no significant difference in b-carotene content be- 551.2, 88.0 and 231.6 mg kg1 fw, respectively (data not shown).
tween common and mild jams obtained using purple carrots Their contents did not significantly change in jams, whether mild or
(Fig. 2C). In addition, after mild method, b-carotene content common, compared to raw carrots, since a reduction of less than
increased by between 18% (commercial jam) and 184% (yellow 20% was measured in average for Naþ, Mg2þ and Ca2þ (data not
jam) compared to raw roots. The latter increase could explain the shown), with no significant differences among jams (either for
previously reported rise in antioxidant activity. Interestingly, after color and methods) due to the high variability detected in the raw
common method, b-carotene content increased by between 156% carrots, which also was found in jams.
 M. Renna et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 53 (2013) 547e554 551

On the other hand, potassium is considered to be the most 3.4. Sensory evaluation
important ion in the mineral composition of raw carrots, a serving
portion (100 g fw) of raw carrots considered in this study supplying The different carrot jams varied in sensory profile (Fig. 4). The
4.8% of Adequate Intake for potassium, approximately equal to jams differed significantly in color, taste and overall acceptability.
4,700 mg per day (National Research Council, 2005). As for color (Fig. 4A), the panellists preferred the purple mild jam
(8.4  0.5), while they neither like nor dislike the purple common
3.3. Color analysis jam (5.2  2.2). On testing the other carrot jams (mild or common),
the panellists assessed them as “like moderately” (7.0 on the
The color parameters, measured through changes in L* and h average), without showing score differences among them. These
values for raw carrots and jams are shown in Fig. 3. Generally, results confirmed data obtained using the colorimeter, especially in
except for the purple carrots, jam method caused a significant purple jams. Although, colorimeter showed significant differences
decrease in L*. Mild method caused a smaller decrease in this value among all jams, the panellist perceived relevant differences only
in commercial, orange and yellow carrots than the common between common and mild purple jams. This might be related to
method. As for the h value, mild jam making method did not affect the high presence of anthocyanins in these roots (Arscott &
the color in yellow (Fig. 3G) and commercial jams (Fig. 3E) Tanumihardjo, 2010), the main pigments responsible of purple
compared to raw carrots. In addition, through mild method, h jam color, which was affected by jam making methods. While, mild
increased by 18% and 103%, respectively, in orange (Fig. 3H) and method preserved the purple jam color as previously reported,
purple (Fig. 3F) jams as compared to carrot roots. On the other common method caused a browning, which affected negatively the
hand, common jam making method caused a significant increase in visual quality and thus the color acceptability of these jams.
h values in all jam types as compared to carrot roots. In particular, As for the taste (Fig. 4B), the purple mild jam was liked very
it was 5%, 12%, 32% and 4-fold higher, respectively, in yellow much (7.4  1.1), whereas the panellists neither liked nor disliked
(Fig. 3K), commercial (Fig. 3I), orange (Fig. 3L) and purple types the commercial mild jam (5.3  1.9) (Fig. 4B). Despite for accept-
(Fig. 3J). These data indicated that mild method caused less color ability (Fig. 4C), all jams were considered suitable and scores
differences in jams compared to raw carrots than common method. ranged between “like slightly” (5.7  1.6) in commercial mild and
The effect of common method on jam color could be attributed to “like very much” (7.9  0.5) in purple mild jam. The panellists
its longer cooking times (Trejo Araya et al., 2009) and to oxidation preferred mild jams to common jams in terms of taste and overall
due to the absence of lemon juice (González-Molina et al., 2009). acceptability, with the exception of jams made from commercial

Fig. 3. L* and Hue angle (h ) values  sd of raw carrots (A, B, C, D), mild (E, F, G, H) and common (I, J, K, L) jams; commercial (A, E, I), purple (B, F, J), yellow (C, G, K), and orange (D, H,
L) types. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
552 M. Renna et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 53 (2013) 547e554

A PURPLE MILD
9 B PURPLE MILD
9

YELLOW MILD 8 ORANGE MILD YELLOW MILD 8 ORANGE MILD

7 7

6 6

COMMERCIAL MILD 5 COMMERCIAL COMMON COMMERCIAL MILD 5 COMMERCIAL COMMON

ORANGE COMMON YELLOW COMMON ORANGE COMMON YELLOW COMMON

PURPLE COMMON PURPLE COMMON

C PURPLE MILD
9 D PURPLE MILD
9

YELLOW MILD 8 ORANGE MILD YELLOW MILD 8 ORANGE MILD

7 7

6 6

COMMERCIAL MILD 5 COMMERCIAL COMMON COMMERCIAL MILD 5 COMMERCIAL COMMON

ORANGE COMMON YELLOW COMMON ORANGE COMMON YELLOW COMMON

PURPLE COMMON PURPLE COMMON

E PURPLE MILD
9

YELLOW MILD 8 ORANGE MILD

COMMERCIAL MILD 5 COMMERCIAL COMMON

ORANGE COMMON YELLOW COMMON

PURPLE COMMON

Fig. 4. Sensory evaluation (scale 1e9) of jams by common and mild methods. (A) Color, (B) taste, (C) overall acceptability, (D) odor, and (E) consistency. A: significant for P  0.001; B
and C: significant for P  0.05; D and E: not significant. Hedonic scale: 9 ¼ like extremely, 8 ¼ like very much, 7 ¼ like moderately, 6 ¼ like slightly, 5 ¼ neither like nor dislike,
4 ¼ dislike slightly, 3 ¼ dislike moderately, 2 ¼ dislike very much, 1 ¼ dislike extremely.

carrots. Lower taste and overall acceptability scores registered in Finally, as for consistency all jams were appreciated (mean score
mild jam obtained from commercial carrots could be attributed to 7.03), without significant differences among samples (Fig. 4E).
the greater firmness of these carrots as reported above (Table 1). In Starting from this result, it is possible to assert that the addition of a
particular, we can hypothesize that commercial carrots need more pectin source allowed to reduce considerably the cooking time in
cooking time to obtain a jam with better sensory quality. So, for this mild method without affect the perceived final consistency.
kind of carrots, the common technology may be preferred. More-
over, we can hypothesize that the addition of lemon juice as anti- 3.5. Principal component analysis
oxidant component in mild jams might have affected the taste,
color, and overall acceptability of these products. However, this is Principal component analysis allowed us to visualize and sum-
not true for the commercial mild jams. For these samples the high marize all the differences highlighted by the ANOVA results. The
root firmness affected the jam fibrousness, which influenced as eigenvalues of the correlation matrix showed that the first three
main factor (also in presence of lemon juice) the taste and the Principal Components (PCs) explained 83% of the total variance. The
overall acceptability evaluation. first two PCs explained 41.09% and 29.67%, respectively. The PCA
As for the odor the panellist did not found significant differences biplot (Fig. 5) showed that total phenols and antioxidant capacity
among all samples (Fig. 4D). were highly correlated reciprocally and with the same positive di-
These colored carrots are particularly rich in volatile com- rection as PC1, being located to the right in the plot. They were
pounds, responsible of the characteristic flavor as previously well responsible for most of the variance captured by PC1. Sodium
reported by Alasalvar et al. (2001). Since we added a commercial content and, especially, h were located to the left in the plot,
lemon juice, without a particular flavor, we can suppose that the inversely correlated with PC1 and with total phenols and antioxi-
contribution to the final odor might be insignificant, explaining the dant capacity. On the same side, but with less influence on the PC1
absence of difference in the sensorial evaluation of odor between spanning variation, were L* and b* (Fig. 5). Examining the product
common and mild samples. distribution (Fig. 5), we find raw purple carrot and purple mild jam
 M. Renna et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 53 (2013) 547e554 553

8 Acknowledgments
FrOran
6 FrComm The Authors are deeply grateful to Dr. Giovanni Bubici for his
Ca Mg help in making biplot graphic.
b
4 L
a K

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PC2 (29,67 %)

2 FrYell
JamMComm
FrPurp
JamMOran TP *Alasalvar, C., Grigor, J. M., Zhang, D., Quantick, P. C., & Shahidi, F. (2001). Com-
0
parison of volatiles, phenolics, sugars, antioxidant vitamins, and sensory quality
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