EVALUATION OF THE STRUCTURAL-MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF COMPOSITE PEAR JELLIES PREPARED WITH DIFFERENT GELLING TIME AND CALCIUM SALTS

The aim was to investigate the influence of different calcium salts and gelation times on the structural-mechanical parameters of a pear composite jellies. Calcium citrate and calcium lactate with a concentration of 0.6 % and 1.2 % were used as sources of calcium ions for the gelling time of 24 and 48 h. The changes in the structural-mechanical properties of the jellies were determined from the obtained typical curves through a penetration test using a texture analyzer. The increase in the concentration of calcium ions led to the increasing values of the structural-mechanical parameters of the fruit jellies, except for adhesiveness and rupture deformation. The shape of the penetration curves was determined to a greater extent by the type and concentration of calcium salts and to a lesser extent by the gelation time. The Pearson correlation coefficients for the compressive stress, deformation force and firmness increased compared to the other structural-mechanical properties with an increase in the gelation time and the concentration of calcium salts.