Technology keeps the flavor of frozen vegetables

Researchers in Sweden have developed a method of freezing fresh vegetables, which helps preserve the flavor and toughness of vegetables after thawing. This breakthrough is expected to help farmers preserve the harvested vegetables throughout the year and chefs will always have fresh ingredients for their salads.

When frozen, thawed, spinach leaves will wilt, losing flavor. However, researchers from Lund University (Sweden) have found a way to solve this problem.

The team conducted the injection of leaf vegetables on the left of trehalose , a substance that naturally exists in many fungi and grasses, helping them survive the cold winters. Researcher Eda Demir said that trehalose is a natural sugar, 5 times sweeter than cane sugar and actually works to protect cells from frost.

Ms. Demir and her colleagues have now started using trehalose to preserve regular vegetables. First of all, the researcher dipped the vegetable leaves into trehalose solution to process in a vacuum machine. The air is then removed from plant tissue and replaced by trehalose. Next, the impulse is used to penetrate the membrane outside the cell and achieve frozen protection, avoiding the damage caused by this process.

Federico Gomez, professor of food technology at Lund University, explains: "Frozen protection can only be achieved if these substances are also inside the cell. Therefore, we use electrical impulses. because they will open the pores inside the cell and then the pores will be like a door that allows the solution to enter . The key feature of this method is, we keep The cells are alive after thawing . It means, all fresh and delicious properties will not be degraded inside the leaf. "

Processed vegetables are then stored in the freezer. Once thawed, the team insists, they still have the look and taste that has just been harvested.

Until now, researchers have tested a new method of preserving vegetables for 1 month. In addition to spinach, they also successfully preserved yellow radish and strawberries. Experimenting with potatoes is less successful, due to their tissue density.

The team claims their method could allow farmers to freeze large quantities of fresh vegetables for sale year-round. They hope to scale up this method so that frozen vegetables treated with trehalose will be available in the market within the next year.