Effects of the Use of Different Temperature and Calcium Chloride Treatments during Storage on the Quality of Fresh-Cut “Xuebai” Cauliflowers

Abstract

This study revealed the effect of the use of different temperature and calcium chloride (CaCl2) treatments on the storage quality of fresh-cut “Xuebai” cauliflowers. Fresh-cut “Xuebai” cauliflowers were soaked with 2% CaCl2 solution at different temperatures. The change in the firmness, color, and ascorbic acid (ASA), total glucosinolates (TGLS), polygalacturonase (PG), and lipoxygenase (LOX) content of fresh-cut “Xuebai” cauliflowers during the cold storage period was assessed. In addition, the sensory quality was also evaluated. The results show that the combined treatments with CaCl2 at different temperatures could effectively maintain the storage quality of fresh-cut “Xuebai” cauliflowers. Then, a method based on factor analysis with comprehensive quality evaluation was proposed. A factor analysis with a principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on nine indicators of cauliflowers. Two principal components were extracted with a cumulative contribution rate of 97.513%. The results demonstrated that the treatment with the best fresh-keeping effect of cauliflowers in storage was the combination treatment at 40 °C with 2% CaCl2 solution, while the optimal storage period was 15 days.