Research Note Pulsed Electric Fields Versus Thermal Treatment: Equivalent Processes To Obtain Equally Acceptable Citrus Juices

Pulsed electric field treatment has been claimed to produce more acceptable chilled citrus juices than those obtained by conventional thermal treatment. The pectin methylesterase activity and the acceptability of nine juices obtained from Clementine mandarins, Valencia oranges, and Ortanique fruits (hybrid of mandarin and orange), untreated, pasteurized (85C for 10 s), and treated by pulsed electric fields (25 kV/cm for 330 s), were evaluated. The treatments, selected to reach a similar level of pectin methylesterase inactivation, produced juices that did not differ in acceptability from each other for the three varieties and in all cases were less acceptable than the untreated juice.