Vegetable processing | Definition, Equipment, Techniques, & Examples (2024)

Aging and spoilage

Depending on the class of vegetable, there are differences in the structure, size, shape, and rigidity of the individual cells. The fresh market shelf life and processing requirements are also very different. Vegetable cells, as plant cells, have rigid cell walls and are glued together by various polysaccharides such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. Once vegetables are harvested from the fields, the cells, now deprived of nutrient supplies normally obtained from soils and the air, go into senescence, or aging. The most noticeable structural change in senescent vegetables is softening, or loss of texture. Softening is caused by natural enzymatic reactions that degrade the plant cell walls. A large group of enzymes is involved in the senescence stage, including cellulase, pectinase, hemicellulase, proteinase, and others. After these enzymes break open the cells, chemical oxidation reactions take place and the vegetables develop off-flavours and loss of nutritional value. Broken cells are also much more easily subject to microbial attacks, which quickly lead to spoilage. In addition, even though the vegetables may be packaged or bagged, the plant cells continue to respire, or break down carbohydrates for energy needs. Respiration leads to loss of quality, so that eventually the products are unsuitable for human consumption.

Nutritional value

The four quality factors of vegetables are colour, texture, flavour, and nutritive values. Fresh vegetables are purchased on the basis of colour and texture, but repeated purchases are made on the basis of flavour and nutritional content. The major nutrients contributed by vegetables to the human diet are dietary fibre (both soluble and insoluble), minerals (calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium), and vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin A, thiamine, niacin, folic acid). The nutrient composition of selected vegetables is shown in the Table.

Certain vegetables contribute lipids to the diet, mostly in the form of unsaturated oils. Roots and legumes can be important contributors of dietary proteins—especially in developing countries, where animal proteins are scarce. One potential nutritional problem of obtaining proteins from a single vegetable source is the low concentration of essential amino acids in vegetables. Twenty common amino acids are considered to be building blocks of proteins for the body. Of these 20, the body cannot synthesize 8; these 8 must be obtained from foods. Most vegetable proteins are low in one of the eight essential amino acids; for example, corn is low in lysine, and soybeans are low in methionine. However, if proteins are obtained from a proper mixture of vegetables, there will not be a nutritional problem.

It is a common misconception that fresh vegetables are always superior in nutritional value to processed vegetables. Several investigations have shown frozen or canned vegetables can actually have higher nutritional value than fresh products. Fresh vegetables are subject to quality and vitamin losses during transportation and storage, whereas processing before these losses occur can yield a nutritionally superior product. Research has shown that a major cause of nutrient loss in vegetables is in the draining of cooking or processing liquids.