Physical Treatments Modified the Functionality of Carrot Pomace
Jordan Richards, Amy Lammert, Jack Madden, Iksoon Kang, Samir Amin
Abstract
This study addressed the critical issue of food waste, particularly focusing on carrot pomace, a by-product of carrot juice production, and its potential reutilization. Carrot pomace, characterized by high dietary fiber content, presents a sustainable opportunity to enhance the functional properties of food products. The effects of physical pretreatments-high shearing (HS), hydraulic pressing (HP), and their combination (HSHP)-alongside two drying methods (freeze-drying and dehydration) on the functional, chemical, and physical properties of carrot pomace were explored. The results indicated significant enhancements in water-holding capacity, fat-binding capacity, and swelling capacity, particularly with freeze-drying. Freeze-dried pomace retained up to 33% more carotenoids and demonstrated an increase of up to 22% in water-holding capacity compared to dehydrated samples. Freeze-dried pomace demonstrated an increase of up to 194% in fat-binding capacity compared to dehydrated samples. Furthermore, HSHP pretreatment notably increased the swelling capacity of both freeze-dried (54%) and dehydrated pomace (35%) compared to pomace without pretreatments. Freeze-drying can enhance the functional properties of dried carrot pomace and preserve more carotenoids. This presents an innovative way for vegetable juice processors to repurpose their processing by-products as functional food ingredients, which can help reduce food waste and improve the dietary fiber content and sustainability of food products.