ENZYMATIC BROWNING INHIBITED IN FRESH AND DRIED APPLE RINGS BY PINEAPPLE JUICE

Sliced apple rings were treated with water (control), canned pineapple juice, frozen pineapple juice, ion-exchanged pineapple juice, frozen orange juice, ascorbic acid, a commercial antibrowning preparation or sodium bisulfite. The rings were either left exposed to air, vacuum pa ckaged, or dehydrated. Browning was measured colorimetrically and by v isual examination over extended periods of time. Pineapple juice was a n effective browning inhibitor in both fresh and dried apples. Pineapp le juice was fractionated using various size and charge separation pro cedures. All fractions inhibited enzymatic browning of crude apple ext racts by at least 26%. Results indicate that the inhibitor is a neutra l compound of low molecular weight.