Quality Changes of Different Form of Minimally Processed Longkong at Low Temperature Storage

Longkong (Lansium domesticum) is a kind of favorite fruit in Thailand which has a good taste and smell. A postharvest problem of longkong is fruit drop from its bunch and peel color change from yellow to brown color within a few days in ambient conditions. Even though these changes affect the saleability of product, the qualities inside each fruit are still acceptable. Therefore, the ready-to-eat form of longkong would be more valuable for postharvest management instead of the bunch. In this research, quality changes of minimally processed longkong fruit which was removed from each bunch both non-peeled and peeled fruit and storage at 4 and 10 degrees C, respectively, was investigated. It was found that lightness (as indicated with L-value) and Hue angle (degrees H) of both peel and flesh decreased and the color difference (Delta E) obviously increased with time. The changing rate of color of non-peeled fruit was more than that of peeled fruit. However, color change of stored non-peeled fruit at 4 degrees C was more rapidly than that at 10 degrees C, which would be caused by chilling injury responses. Moreover, the effect of storage temperature (at 4 and 10 degrees C) on texture change was not found in either non-peeled and peeled longkong fruits throughout storage.