Alternative Thawing Methods for the Blanched/Non-Blanched Potato Cubes: Microwave, Ohmic, and Carbon Fiber Plate Assisted Cabin Thawing

The effects of conventional-C, carbon fiber plate assisted cabinet heater-CPAC, ohmic-OT, and microwave thawing-MT techniques on changes of some quality characteristics and resistant starch (RS) content of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cubes (18 x 18 x 18 mm) were investigated. The effects of blanching prior to the freezing on thawing characteristics were also determined. The thawing times of non-blanched samples were determined as 23,580485 s, 5360 +/- 40 s, 205 +/- 18.25 s and 19.26 +/- 1.49 s for conventional, CPAC, OT, and MT methods, respectively. The blanching process increased the thawing times in general. OT and CPAC thawing methods served lower RS content for thawed potato samples. The potato cubes thawed by OT and MT were softer than C and CPAC thawed potato cubes (P<0.05). The highest color change was found for MT of blanched samples and conventional thawing of non-blanched samples. The electrical methods could be alternative thawing methods in terms of providing shorter thawing times and desirable changes on some quality characteristics.