No abstract

This study was conducted to assess the possibility of preserving frozen vegetables (Aster scaber, soybean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, green pumpkin, and Welsh onion) for a long period and of using them after such storage by measuring changes in quality due to their preservation. Various freshly harvested vegetables were blanched under optimal conditions (that were determined in a preliminary experiment), quick-frozen at -40℃ for 24 h, and stored at -20℃. The change in the chromaticity of the frozen A. scaber, soybean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, green pumpkin, and Welsh onion did not vary. The hardness of the frozen A. scaber, green pumpkin, Chinese cabbage and Welsh onion did not change during the preservation period, whereas the hardness of the cotyledon and hypocotyl of the soybean sprouts significantly increased on the sixth month of their storage. The total bacterial counts of the A. scaber during the preservation period remained constant at 10 3 CFU/g, whereas those of soybean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, green pumpkin, and Welsh onion decreased slightly to 10 2 CFU/g. Coliform was not detected in any of the samples. The sensory evaluation showed that the preservation period that was used in this study did not significantly affect the marketability of the frozen vegetables. Therefore, it was considered that A. scaber, soybean sprouts, Chinese cabbage, green pumpkin, and Welsh onion can be safely preserved by freeze-storing them for up to 12 months.