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Abstract: Mushroom quality is determined not only by biochemical factors but also by mechanical properties. A large amount of information is available on mushroom physiology but little about the fundamental nature of texture. In this paper the effects of storage on cap texture are evaluated. The energy required to force an 8 mm spherical probe 1 mm into the surface was measured on the side and top of mushroom caps. The probe compresses rather than penetrates the cap surface. To test whether the skin had an effect on tissue compression, peeled and whole mushroom caps were subjected to the probe test. The test was performed on freshly harvested mushrooms and those stored for 1, 2, 3 and 4 days. We have shown that the skin does not have any protective effect against compression. However, the side of the mushroom was shown to be softer than the top and during storage, the decrease in energy required to compress the tissue by 1 mm was more rapid than for the top.
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