Hot water dipping is an environmentally and human-friendly way of treating fruits. Short-term hot water dipping contributes to the prolonged life of the fruits and their longer storage time. In addition to immersion into the water, the fruits can also be brushed. Fruit is immersed in water with optimal temperatures 40–55 °C. Hot water dipping significantly delay the decrease of fruit firmness during storage. The release of ethylene is also disturbed, which stops or slows down after immersion. There is also a decrease in the growth of microorganisms and molds, and consequently subsequent decline in fruits. Hot water dipping has successfully suppressed the growth of mold Colletotrichum musae, which causes anthracnose in organic bananas and mold Penicillium expansum (LINK) Thom, which is a problem for Golden Delicious apples. The antioxidant effects of enzymes become more intense, when it comes to hot water dipping. The activity of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase increased after hot water dipping. Hot water dipping also effectively reduced the accumulation of ROS, which action could be cytotoxic. Hot water dipping may control effectively chilling injury and decay especially for tropical fruits during extended storage.
|
