Firmer fruits, more savoury meals

THE speciality enzyme manufacturer, Biocatalysts Ltd has recently released a number of new products, some of which will be presented this month at the IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago, Illinois.  The new enzyme for fruits was developed when a customer approached them  for  an  ingredient  to  help  keep strawberries firm during yoghurt production. Rising to the challenge,  the Cardiff-based company had carried out several tests before finally coming up with Pectinase 872L,  a product that slows the tendency of strawberries, as well as other soft fruits and vegetables, to break down and be damaged in the course of food processing.

Pectinase 872L catalyses the hydrolysis of the methyl ester bonds in pectin, releasing free carboxyl groups. These free carboxyl groups are then cross-linked with divalent ions such as calcium to form a network of pectin. This essentially means that very soluble pectin is converted into less soluble pectin, which in turn is more likely to stay in fruit tissue during transformation processes – thus ensuring that the strawberries maintain their structure and form within the yoghurt.

No problematic side activities

According to the company, this enzyme is different from other fruit-firming products already on the market as it has less side activities that cause unwanted characteristics. This liquid enzyme can be used not only for strawberries but for any soft fruit or vegetable that will be part of jams, yoghurts, sauces, and other food preparations. The dosage of Pectinase 872L will depend on the type of fruit or vegetable that requires processing and also the process conditions. For this particular enzyme the optimum pH range is between 4 and 5 and the optimum temperature range being between 30 - 50°C.