Protective effect of cysteine-HCl on vitamin C in dehydrated pickled/candied pineapples and guava

Dehydrated pickled/candied guava and pineapples pretreated with 0.24 g kg-1 cysteine hydrochloride (cys-HCl) had increased ascorbic acid retention and reduced colour change during storage. Dehydrated pineapples pretreated with cys-HCl had two to three times the ascorbic acid content of control or metabisulphite-treated products. The rate of ascorbic acid loss for all products stored at room temperature were similar, showing that cys-HCl was only protective towards ascorbic acid during the preparation and dehydration process. Candied dehydrated guava showed less colour change and higher ascorbic acid retention (about 57%) than pickled guava (ascorbic acid retention about 30%). Cys-HCl was quite effective in reducing browning of candied pineapples but not pickled pineapples. Sensory evaluation showed that candied guava pretreated with 0.24 g kg-1 cys-HCl was generally preferred over the other dehydrated guava products. Cys-HCl-treated candied pineapples had the best flavour compared with all other dehydrated pineapple products. Cys-HCl appeared to favour conversion of glucose to fructose during storage of dehydrated pineapples.