Tomatoes firmness

Food. Food-grade calcium chloride is used in cheese making to aid in rennet coagulation and to replace calcium lost in pasteurization. In the canning iadustry it is used to firm the skin of fmit such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and jalapenos. It acts as a control in many flocculation, coagulation systems (37). Food-grade calcium chloride is used in the brewing iadustry both to control the mineral salt characteristics of the water and as a basic component of certain beers (see Beer). 

Are the green tomatoes soft or firm Does the tomato in the shoe box turn red faster than the one outside the shoe box How long does it take... 

Alar promotes fruit setting of grapes and accelerates by several days the maturing of cherries. It also is used on apples, prunes, tomatoes, peanuts, and various ornamental crops. On apple trees, Alar increases the firmness of the fruit and prevents it from dropping permaturely. On tomato transplants, the compound retards stem elongation. 

Native pectin esterases can be used for protecting and improving the texture and firmness of several processed fruits and vegetables these include apple slices (53), canned tomatoes (54), cauliflower (55), carrots (56), potatoes (56), beans (57) and peas (91). 

Figure 1. Correlation between the firmness values and PME activities of ripening tomatoes. Mature green tomatoes were held at room temperature for seven days ripening periods.

The ability of metal ions to modify the texture of fruit and vegetable tissue has been studied since 1939, when Kertesz (l) found that calcium ions improved the firmness of tomatoes. A very simplified generalization of the effects of metal ions on fruit and vegetable texture is that monovalent cations, usually Na+ and K, cause tissue softening. Examples of this softening effect include results with peas (2.31, dried peas (4), carrots (5), potatoes (6) and green beans (7). On the other hand calcium, a divalent cation,... 

PI ant Material. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum. Mill, var Sunny) fruit were harvested from plants grown at the IFAS Horticultural Farm near Gainesville, FL. Fruit were selected at five stages of development immature green (undeveloped fruit, gel tissue firm), mature-green (gel formation initiated), turning, pink and ripe (red). Fruit were surface sterilized with 0.05 Na-hypochlorite and rinsed. Fruit were quartered, the pericarp and locular gel separated, and both stored at -20°C. 

The ability of calcium ions to act as a firming agent in processed fruits and vegetables has been the subject of many studies over the years (1). Among the commodities in which calcium has been observed to cause firming are snap beans (2), tomatoes (3), apples... 

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