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Changes in texture and color with cooking time in sweet potatoes

Experiment Findings · November 2016

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 JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF
AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

Changes in texture and color with cooking time in sweet potatoes

Jackson R.M. ISHARA

AG 321-5442/2015

Masters in Food Science and Technology

Unit: Physical properties of foods

Facilitator: Prof Daniel N. Sila

2016
1. Introduction

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is an important food crop around the world (Wu et al.,
2008). It’s widely cooked by deep frying and consumed in forms of french fries and chips
(Farinu et al., 2007). The frying process results in unique flavor, color and texture attributes
which are the main drivers of consumer acceptability of the products (Mellema, 2003 &
Nourian, 2003). However, consumers are increasingly health conscious and trends are moving
toward foods with low oil content (Ouchon et al., 2003).

Firmness has been commonly used as a texture parameter since it is related to the sense of
chewing (Nourian, 2003). Changes in texture of sweet potato french fries are influenced by
changes in the cellular and sub cellular structure of the products. These changes have been
attributed to starch gelatinization in the product during frying (Abong, 2011). Several studies
have documented changes in color, texture and oil uptake of sweet potato products (O'Connor
et al, 2001; Krokida et al, 2001; Hagenimana et al., 1998 & Abe et al., 2011).

There are dozens of cultivars of sweet potatoes available that vary in their flesh color, sugar
content and % dry matter (La Bonte et al., 2000). New potatoes are defined as potatoes that are
harvested as early as 3 months after being sown, and tend to have a fragile, flaky skin and low
dry matter and starch content. As the potato matures, the skin sets and the dry matter and starch
content increases. In general, main crop potatoes go into long-term storage for sale the next
season whilst earlies go straight into the shops.

An essential quality attribute of processed potatoes is texture, which is a function of potato

structure. Generally, the potato structure could be considered as made up of two principal areas:
the cortex and the pith. The cortex is made of vascular storage parenchyma, which is rich in
starch, followed by the pith which contains less starch and is located at the centre of the tuber
(Jadhav & Kadam, 1998). In new or immature potatoes, the cortex makes up a very small part
of the potato, while in more mature potatoes the cortex volume can exceed that of the pith
(Anzaldua, 1992).

During cooking a number of changes occur in the potato tuber. The nature and magnitude of
these changes influence the quality of cooked potatoes. For instance, some cooking conditions

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may cause excessive quality loss due to the breakdown of the cellular material such as pectin
(Ibarz et al., 1999; Lozano & Ibarz, 1997; Maskan, 2001). Starch present in the potato tubers
also plays an important role in the cooking quality because it can absorb water and swell
creating internal pressures that can lead to cell separation, reduced cohesiveness and softening
(Binner et al., 2000; Jarvis et al., 1992 & Selvendran et al., 1987). Binner et al. (2000)
considered intercellular adhesion in the raw tuber to be important in relation to the texture of
the cooked potatoes.

Objectives.

1. To measure the changes in texture with time.

2. To measure the changes in color with time.
3. To describe the change in the determined physical properties with time using structure-
functions relationships.
2. Materials.
1. Sweet potatoes samples from market.
2. Flesh firmness: bench to penetrometer.
3. Color: CIELAB Minolta color measuring instrument.
a. Samples preparation
1. Samples were diced into uniform pieces of height 1cm (70pieces).
2. Diced samples were cooked at 95oC for a period of 60 minutes with drawing a sample
after every 10 min.

2.2. Procedure

2.2.1. Firmness determination

The firness was measured at 3 points along the equatorial region of each fruit. The firmness
was then taken as the resistance of the flesh to penetration of the plunger as resistance in
Newtons.

Texture is one of the most important parameters connected to product quality. It is defined as
the sensory manifestation of the structure of a food and the manner in which that structure
reacts to the applied force (Meullenet et al., 1997).

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Texture analysis involves measuring the properties related to how a food feels in our mouth.
Characterization of food texture falls into sensory and instrumental method of analysis. A
sensory analysis includes use of the senses of smell, taste, sound and touch. Sometimes it is
preferable to use instrumental methods for assessing food texture rather than sensory analysis
as they can be carried out under more strictly defined and controlled conditions. Moreover the
sensory analysis is costly and time consuming. Instrumental methods can save time, reduce
costs, and provide more consistent, objective results.

2.2.2. Color determination

Color of potato samples was measured, in L*a*b* system, using a Minolta Chroma Meter
(Minolta Corp, Japon). Parameters L*, a* and b* determine a three dimensional color space,
in which L* represents brightness (on a lightness–darkness scale) whereas positive and
negative a* values determine the redness and greenness, and positive and negative b* values
determine yellowness and blueness, respectively. The instrument was calibrated against a
white-standard.

The individual differences in L*, a* and b* values from the zero-time readings were combined
to obtain a total color difference (DE) using the following equation:

∆𝐸 = √(𝑙𝑜 − 𝑙)* + (𝑎𝑜 − 𝑎)* + (𝑏𝑜 − 𝑏)*

where L0, a0 and b0 represented the readings at zero time, and L*, a* and b* represented the
readings at each time intervals for each time. A large r DE denotes greater color change from
the reference material.

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 3. Results and discussion

3.1. Change in color with cooking time

Color is derived from the natural pigments in vegetables products, many of which change as
the plant proceeds through maturation and ripening. The primary pigments imparting color
quality are the fat soluble chlorophylls (green) and carotenoids (yellow, orange, and red) and
the water soluble anthocyanins (red, blue), flavonoids (yellow), and betalains (red). In addition,
enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning reactions may result in the formation of water soluble
brown, gray, and black colored pigments.

For all color parameters, the extent of color change in cooked potatoes was dependent on the
cooked time, these results show that L*, a* and Hue angle have higher value before cooking
and decreased with cooking time. And there is not significant difference in L*, a* and hue
angle changes with cooking time. While b* and chrome value show less value before cooking
but increased at 10 min cooking time and then decreased with increasing cooking time. Chroma
and b* value show less value at 30 min cooking time when you compare with others cooking
time. Change in color was higher at 10 min cooking time and then decreased but not significally
with increasing cooked time.

The results show that the hue angle and the color change decreases gradually with cooking
time. The degree of redness given by a* value is decreasing with cooking time while the b*
value which indicates the degree of yellowness is increasing with cooking time. Chroma value
changes do not seem to show a precise trend with time. This may be attributed to the fact that
chroma value is an indication of color intensity. Hue angle is used on the standard color wheel
to indicate the precise color of a specimen. Color difference is used to indicate the variation in
color measurements against a specific treatment.

Overall, a steady decrease in L* value of the cooked product was noted with the passage of
time for potatoes, thus demonstrating a progressive loss in brightness. Further, less cooking
time showed a larger decrease in L* value. The associated changes in a* and b* values of
cooked potatoes were small.

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Again, similarity in color change behavior of cooked and raw products, permits to assess color
changes in cooking quality based on changes in raw potatoes.

These results are in agreement with the results obtained by Spychalla and Desborough (1990).
This shows that storage of potatoes at low temperatures could result in accumulation of
reducing sugars from starch and thus promote color changes due to nonenzymatic browning,
when potatoes are intended for further processing.

Purple Sweet Potatoes (PSP) have a reddish purple color due to high levels of anthocyanins in
their tissues and skins (Yoshinaga et al., 1999; Truong et al., 2010; Kim et al., 2012).
Anthocyanins are water soluble pigments as well as sensitive to heat. This indicates that the
anthocyanins in PSPs can be significantly changed during cooking. This experiment confirms
the changes as seen in the results.

The stability of anthocyanins depends on a combination of factors including their chemical

structure and concentration, pH, temperature and the presence of complexing agents such as
phenolic acids and metal ions (Mazza and Miniati 1993). Anthocyanins are degraded more
quickly with increases in temperatures (80-100oC) and pH levels (1.0-6.0) (Hou et al., 2013).
In the meta-analytic approach to anthocyanin levels while cooking vegetables, moist heat
techniques such as boiling and steaming reduce the anthocyanin concentrations whereas dry
heat cooking such as microwaving and baking increase their levels (Murador et al., 2014).
Mono-acylated anthocyanins generally have a higher resistance to heating than di-acylated and
nonacylated forms (Xu et al., 2015). The most abundant anthocyanins in PSP are peonidin
derivatives that exist in mono-acylated or di-acylated forms (Xu et al., 2015). In comparison,
cyanidin derivatives are found to a lesser extent in PSPs.

PSPs are predominantly consumed after being cooked by boiling, baking, or steaming. It is
imperative that cooking methods applied to PSPs maintain color and health-promoting
compounds such as anthocyanins and phenolic compounds.

The enzymes involved in browning reactions include polyphenol oxidase, which catalyzes the
oxidation of polyphenolic compounds, and phenylalanine ammonia lyase, which catalyzes the
synthesis of precursors to phenolic substrates. Sweet Potatoes have anti-oxidative, anti-
inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-cancer effects (Yoshimoto et al., 2001; Zhang et al.,
2009), which can be attributed to the high amount of anthocyanins and phenolic compounds.
Purple Sweet Potato cultivars have a wide variation of anthocyanin profiles (Yoshinaga et al.,
2010 & Xu et al., 2015).

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Table 1. Change in color with cooking time

Time (minutes) L* a* b* Hue angle Chroma Change in color

0 86.10 0.95 33.55 88.38 33.56
10 67.00 -3.55 72.15 -87.18 72.24 43.30
20 67.30 -5.30 48.15 -83.72 48.44 24.61
30 65.23 -3.60 44.53 -85.38 44.68 24.02
40 66.27 -4.45 46.34 -84.52 46.55 24.21
50 65.75 -4.03 45.44 -84.94 45.62 24.09
60 66.93 -5.50 47.30 -83.37 47.62 24.45

3.2. Change in texture with cooking time

The Change in texture with time is presented in Table2. Shetty, Dwelle, and Fellman (1992)
reported that the changes in textural properties of potatoes are due to the associated changes in
the physico-chemical properties and structure of the cell wall. It should be noted that texture
of cooked potatoes depends also on the cooking conditions as a result of various factors such
as starch gelatinization, pectin degradation, cell wall breakdown, cell separation, etc. The
changes in texture parameters of linked to the chemical changes associated with the stored
product.

Our results are in agreement with Shetty et al. (1992) and show firmness decreasing with
cooking time. First the decrease takes place at a rapid rate in the first 10minutes of cooking
followed by gradual almost constant decreasing rate. This observation can be attributed to
gelatinization of starch. Three main processes happen to the starch granule: granule swelling,
crystal or double helical melting, and amylose leaching.

Water then enters via amorphous regions the tightly bound areas of double helical structures
of amylopectin. At ambient temperatures these crystalline regions do not allow water to enter.
Heat causes such regions to become diffuse, the amylose chains begin to dissolve, to separate
into an amorphous form and the number and size of crystalline regions decreases. Under the

7
microscope in polarized light starch loses its birefringence and its extinction cross (Zobel, H.
F.; 1988).

Thus the changes in texture could not be directly related to the starch content, but rather to the
physiological process affecting the tissue structure. Probably changes in pectin could have
indicted the differences. Some of the disappearing starch could have been converted to sugars
resulting in a significant increase in the total and reducing sugar contents.

Nourian et al. (1999) showed that the texture loss was found to follow two pseudo-first-order
degradation, with more rapid than the other as has been reported in other studies (Nourian,
Ramaswamy, & Kushalappa, 1999). During heating, water is first absorbed in the amorphous
space of starch, which leads to a swelling phenomenon (Jenkins et al., 1998).

Penetration of water thus increases the randomness in the starch granule structure, and causes
swelling, eventually soluble amylose molecules leach into the surrounding water and the
granule structure disintegrates.

Table 2. Change in texture with cooking time

Time (minutes) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Texture 29.90 1.50 0.50 0.50 0.10 0.10 0.20
31.20 1.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.20 0.10
32.10 0.70 0.50 0.30 0.20 0.40 0.10
Average 31.07 1.07 0.37 0.33 0.20 0.23 0.13

Conclusion

Quality of cooked potatoes are influenced by storage conditions, length of storage as well as
cooking conditions. According to this practical we can conclude that changes in color, hue
angle and the a* value (redness) of sweet potatoes decreases with cooking time while the b*
value (yellowness) increases with cooking time due to gelatinization. And the firmness
decreases with cooking temperature due to gelatinization.

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