Beet ratio

Improvements in pulp pressing technology have enabled manufacturers to reduce the moisture content of pressed pulp from 80% (moisture-to-sohds ratio 4 1) to 75% (3 1 ratio), which has reduced the drying requirements by one-fourth. Beet pulp is much mote difficult to press than most vegetable products, but there are indications that moisture in the mid-60% (ratios <2 1) range may be achievable with properly designed equipment. 

In addition to the pigment concentration in the respective food source, the color quality is of major importance for plant material quality assessment and selection during production and storage. Color quality also strongly affects consumer purchase decisions. Since red beet is still the sole betalain source exploited commercially, quality parameters have been developed for beet preparations. The most important one is the so-called color shade representing a ratio of two absorbance values, namely for betaxanthins and for betacyanins, respectively, A (at 535 mn)/A (at 480 nm). 

While earlier papers cited buffer systems or aqueous o-phosphoric acid to achieve satisfactory peak resolution, most recent investigations involved acetic acid or formic acid systems. " Representative examples are 0.2% and 1% HCOOH for betacyanins and betaxanthins, respectively, the latter requiring a lower pH for chromatographic resolution. Methanol or acetonitrile are most commonly used as modifiers, either undiluted or diluted with purified water at ratios of 60 40 or 80 20 (v/v), respectively. - Typical HPLC fingerprints for yellow and red beet juice are shown in Figure 6.4.1. 

Molasses are the product left when no more sugar can be extracted. Beet sugar molasses are unpleasant in taste and are not normally used for human food. Cane sugar molasses do have some food use, normally in the form of treacle, which is clarified molasses. The ratio of sugar to invert sugar in treacle can be altered to some extent to assist product formulation. In practice different sugar syrups are blended with the molasses to give the desired product. Treacle is normally stored at 50°C to maintain liquidity. 

More recently, the carbon stable isotope ratio test (SIRA) has become an easy method to detect adulteration with cane and corn syrup (Carro et al, 1980). Because maple trees are C3 plants with a somewhat different photosynthetic pathway for carbon fixation, the ratio of 13C/12C in the sugar produced is different than cane or com. Maple has a 813C of approximately —24.5, whereas com and cane are closer to a 813C of —8 to —12. Thus, even a small addition of cane or corn syrup is readily detectable. Because beets are also C3 plants, the SIRA test is not able to detect adulteration with beet sugar. Improvement of the SIRA method is possible using malic acid as an internal standard (Tremblay and Paquin, 2007). 

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