CONTRASTING EFFECTS OF HIGH-PRESSURE-ASSISTED FREEZING AND CONVENTIONAL AIR-FREEZING ON EGGPLANT TISSUE MICROSTRUCTURE

Damage to the microstructure of eggplants frozen by conventional air-f reezing methods and by a high-pressure-assisted freezing method is com pared in this paper. When conventional air-freezing techniques are emp loyed, damage to the microstructure is enhanced as the freezing rate d iminishes and the sample volume increases. However, when high-pressure -assisted freezing is applied, bulk nucleation occurs simultaneously i n the whole sample, and the observed damage is less dependent on the v olume of the sample.