Valorization of postharvest sweet cherry discard for the development of dehydrated fruit ingredients: compositional,...

Sweet cherries are an excellent source of phenolic compounds, which may contribute to a healthy diet. The objective of this work was to generate dehydrated ingredients from postharvest discard of sweet cherries.

Four dried ingredients were obtained from fresh sweet cherry discard (Lapins var.) using an osmotic dehydration pretreatment and freeze drying or air drying. The ingredients showed an important phenolic contribution (2.8-6.6 g gallic acid kg^-1 of product) and preserved the natural color of the fruit to a great extent. Freeze-dried ingredients were less hygroscopic than air-dried ones, and presented with a softer texture. All the ingredients were in a supercooled state at room temperature (T_g range: -23.0 to -18.8 °C). Sugar infusion pretreatment caused a decrease in water sorption capacity and molecular mobility; it also reduced the initial rehydration rate.

Relevant differences in nutritional and structural characteristics of the ingredients were observed depending on the processing method used. These ingredients could be incorporated into different processed foods, such as snacks, cereal mixtures, cereal bars, and bakery and confectionery products. Air-dried control ingredients presented better nutritional qualities and air-dried sweet cherries with sugar infusion pretreatment could be appropriate ingredients for applications where sweet flavor and slow rehydration rate are required. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.