Passage III

Jalapeño pepper slices can be preserved by canning, in which they are placed in jars, covered with a brine (a solution of dissolved salts in water), heated, and then sealed. Over time, the texture of canned jalapeño slices can soften, which makes them less desirable to consumers. Chemists studied how preheating the jalapeño slices in water or in a brine prior to canning affects their texture over time.

Experiment 1

Jalapeños of identical freshness were cut into 5 mm thick slices and divided into 500 g samples. Samples were covered with water and preheated at 50°C for different periods of time and then drained. These samples, and a sample that received no preheating treatment, were each canned in the same manner. After 1 month (mo) of storage at 23℃, the samples were tested with a texture press, which evaluates texture by determining the minimum force (in newtons, N) needed to completely cut through a specified thickness of pepper slices. The results are shown in Figure 1.

Experiment 2

Samples were preheated at 50°C for 60 min in water, or in 1 of 2 brines, or given no preheating treatment. Then, as in Experiment 1, they were drained, canned, and evaluated for texture after 1 mo of storage at 23°C (see Table 1).

Experiment 3

Samples were preheated in Brine B at 50°C for 60 min, then drained and canned as in Experiment 1. The texture of the slices was evaluated after different storage times at 23°C. The procedure was repeated with a sample that had no preheating treatment (see Figure 2).

Figures and table adapted from L. R. Howard, P. Burma, and A. B. Wagner, "Firmness and Cell Wall Characteristics of Pasteurized Jalapeño Pepper Rings as Affected by Preheating and Storage." @1997 by the Institute of Food Technologists.