Changes in minimally processed apple tissue with storage time and temperature: mechanical–acoustic analysis and rheological investigation

Texture and mesostructure of packaged fresh-cut ‘Fuji’ apple slices were studied during 30 days storage at 4, 10 and 20 °C. Instrumental mechanical–acoustic texture evaluations were carried out, and cell wall materials were isolated from the flesh tissue by means of an ethanol and methanol–chloroform solvents extraction procedure. The emphasis was on relating the macroscopic loss of fresh texture characteristics to the changes in the rheological properties occurring to the structuring elements of the cell wall materials (CWMs). The rheology of the reconstituted CWM water dispersion was evaluated by means of oscillatory dynamic testing, and viscoelastic data were interpreted according to the ‘weak-gel model’ theory. The dynamics of the flowing components at the mesoscale structural level was related to the texture softening, which yields decrease in firmness and rigidity parameters, and an attenuation of the acoustic emission (fewer acoustic peaks and lower sound pressure level), as it was measured in the combined acoustic–mechanical test. The kinetic reaction rate values are presented. Softening of apple flesh is accompanied by slight cleavage of molecular assemblies and a loss in cell adhesion, mediated by the increase in assemblies’ water uptake. The ability to handle the relationship between the sounds produced during flesh crushing and the structure of the cellular tissue would assist breeders and geneticists in the selection and control of the apple crispness, or would support technologists in preventing postharvest softening during storage and retail.