Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria

Background. Strawberries are a good source of aroma, colour, and antioxidants (vitamin C and anthocyanins), which provide various health benefits. However, these antioxidants are sensitive to heat and can easily degrade during thermal processing. Their contents could be described by thermal kinetic models during the heating process for strawberry candy. The extent of heating temperature and time’s effect on hardness and sensory value of the fruit candy would be evaluated.
Material and methods. The study aimed to investigate the effects of cooking temperatures (80–100°C) and times (8–22 min) on the quality parameters of strawberry fruit candy, including water content, hardness, anthocyanin and vitamin C levels, and sensory attributes.
Results. The results showed that temperature strongly influenced the changes in anthocyanin content, while time highly affected changes in vitamin C content during cooking. The degradation of anthocyanin and vitamin C could be described using the first-order reaction model. The results showed activation energy values of 614 kJ/mol and 429 kJ/mol, respectively, as determined by the Arrhenius model. The study found strong correlations between the quality parameters and the heating conditions. Heating at 90°C for 14 minutes resulted in the best sensory values and the highest anthocyanin and vitamin C levels.
Conclusion. The heating time of the strawberry mixture sharply caused a decrease in vitamin C content and an increase in hardness. Meanwhile, the heating temperature was a vital contributor to the reduction in anthocyanin, degradation of anthocyanin, and vitamin C in the strawberry mixture, and it can be described by the first-order reaction and Arrhenius model during the heating of the strawberry soft candy. The study highlights the potential for developing new food products from strawberries, carefully considering cooking to optimize quality parameters and preserve essential antioxidants.