Assessing the Features of Tomato Pomace Powder in Suspensions

Abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate the physicochemical characteristics of dried tomato pomace and the viscoelastic behavior of suspensions obtained by the rehydration of dry, grinded tomato pomace and sieved with a particle size < 120 µm. Investigated systems comprised of three different dry tomato pomace powder (TP) concentrations (15, 20 and 25%) heat-treated at two temperatures (60 °C and 95 °C) corresponding to the “cold-break” and “hot-break”, during 30 min. The dynamic rheological properties and color parameters of the suspensions formulated were evaluated. The water activity, water absorption index, water retention capacity, pectin content and color parameters assessed revealed good properties of the dry tomato pomace powder (TP) to develop new products. Tomato pomace suspensions with different concentrations processed at different temperatures caused significant changes in rheological behavior. The viscoelastic properties of the TP suspension showed a much stiffer structure at 25% TP, processed at 90 °C. Instrumental color parameters a* and b* increased, while lightness (L*) decreased with concentration and temperature increase. These results could be useful to select the adequate concentration of TP to achieve a desired consistency of the product during processing with positive effects on quality parameters of the finite product.