Análise da perda de água na maçã (malusdomestica) em ambiente natural

Abstract

Water is of fundamental importance in the food industry, as it is used as a facilitating ingredient for the entry of nutrients, hygiene and cleaning. Furthermore, it is a source of cooling and heating for the products. The composition of water in a food varies according to its origin and means of conservation. The entire process involving the activity of water in food corresponds to intrinsic factors. The objective of this work was to determine the moisture and mass loss of cut and whole apple in the natural environment. Since it is very important to understand chemical-physical factors that occur in food. To carry out the experiment, a kitchen scale with a precision of 1 milligram, a whole apple, an apple cut in half, a simple plate and a table knife were used. First, the fruit was removed from the refrigerator, left for 10 hours to adjust to room temperature, and later it was weighed and photographed. It was possible to verify that there are numerous changes caused by water activity and loss of food mass, chemical or physical changes, established in a time frame.

Keywords: moisture content, mass loss, intrinsic factors.