The applied pretreatment (blanching, ascorbic acid) at the manufacture process affects the quality of nectarine puree processed by hydrostatic high pressure

A nectarine puree was manufactured with different pretreatments (thermal blanching or ascorbic acid - AA - addition), and then, the puree was processed by high-pressure treatment to evaluate the effect of the initial manufacture conditions in the stability of the processed purees. A thermal treatment was also carried out to compare the effect with the high-pressure processing (HPP). All applied processes were effective to ensure the microbiological safety of the purees. However, the pretreatment (thermal blanching or AA addition) applied during the manufacture affected the final quality of the processed purees. Initially, the AA addition had a protective effect on colour degradation during the manufacture of the purees; however, when these purees were treated by HPP showed less colour stability during storage, lower bioactive compounds content, and antioxidant activity. In contrast, purees with an initial thermal blanching maintained better the quality after HPP and during storage.