Jean Pierre Pain

Differentiation between Cooking Bananas and Dessert Bananas. 1. Morphological and Compositional Characterization of Cultivated Colombian Musaceae (Musa sp.) in Relation to Consumer Preferences

The morphological, physical, and chemical characteristics of 23 unripe cultivated varieties of Colombian Musaceae were assessed. Fresh pulp dry matter helped to discriminate the following consumption subgroups: FHIA dessert hybrids (hydes: 24.6%) < dessert bananas (des: 29.4%) < nonplantain cooking bananas (cook: 32.0%) < FHIA cooking hybrids (hycook: 34.2%) < plantains (pl: 41.1%). Banana flour starch content on dry basis (db) varied from 74.2 to 88.2% among the varieties, with: pl: 86.5% > cook and hycook: 84% > des: 81.9% > hydes: 79.7% (p <or= 0.01). Flour pH varied in the range 4.8 to 6.2, with the highest pH for the plantain subgroup (5.6), which also had lower titratable acidity than those of the cooking banana and FHIA groups with 7.9, 13.6, and 15.6 mEq H(+)/100 g db, respectively (p <or= 0.05). pl and hycook presented the highest glucose and fructose contents at 0.8% and 1.5% (p <or= 0.05). No significant differences were observed between the groups in proteins (3.2%), total soluble sugars (1.7%), and crude fibers (3%). pl had lower ash, calcium, and magnesium contents (2.7%; 8.4 and 90.7 mg/100 g db) than des (3.2%; 9.3 and 117.9 mg/100 g db) and hydes (3.9%; 23.7 and 125 mg/100 g db) (p <or= 0.05). pl and des had significantly lower peel percentages (38%) than the other subgroups (42-45%). The principal components analysis (PCA) highlights the strong relationship between some of the varietal characteristics and the consumption pattern, which is especially marked for the plantain subgroup in relation to stakeholder and the consumer preferences.

Differentiation between Cooking Bananas and Dessert Bananas. 2. Thermal and Functional Characterization of Cultivated Colombian Musaceae (Musa sp.)

The starch and flour thermal and functional characteristics of 23 cultivated varieties of bananas in Colombia were assessed. Onset temperature for gelatinization of starches measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) varied from 59.7 to 67.8 degrees C, thereby significantly differentiating dessert bananas (63.2 degrees C) from nonplantain cooking bananas (65.7 degrees C) from FHIA hybrids (66.6 degrees C) and plantains (67.1 degrees C). FHIA hybrids are significantly discriminated from dessert banana landraces but not from the cooking group. The starch amylose contents varied from 15.4 to 24.9%; most dessert banana starch amylose contents were below 19%, whereas in cooking banana starches the contents were over 21%. Flour functional properties were assessed by Rapid ViscoAnalyser (RVA) using silver nitrate as alpha-amylase inhibitor. The flour pasting temperature was relevant to differentiate dessert bananas (69.5 degrees C) from FHIA dessert hybrids and nonplantain cooking bananas (72.8 degrees C) from cooking hybrids and plantains (75.8 degrees C). Among other criteria, the cooking ability also helped to differentiate dessert bananas and FHIA hybrids from cooking bananas. A close relation between cultivar genotypes and uses with the thermal and pasting properties were revealed.

Characterisation of the volatile profile of coconut water from five varieties using an optimised HS-SPME-GC analysis.

BACKGROUND Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) water is a refreshing tropical drink whose international market has recently been growing. However, little is yet known about its physicochemical composition, particularly its aroma. This study set out to characterise the volatile profile of water from five coconut varieties. RESULTS Aroma compounds were characterised by headspace solid phase microextraction gas chromatography (HS-SPME-GC) analysis. An experimental design was established to optimise SPME conditions, leading to an equilibration time of 10 min followed by an extraction time of 60 min at 50 °C. Accordingly, immature coconut water from WAT (West African Tall), PB121 (MYD × WAT Hybrid), MYD (Malayan Yellow Dwarf), EGD (Equatorial Guinea Green Dwarf) and THD (Thailand Aromatic Green Dwarf) palms was analysed and described. Ketones were mainly present in the Tall and Hybrid varieties, whereas aldehydes were most abundant in the Dwarf palms. Tall coconut water was characterised by a high lactone content. THD exhibited a high ethyl octanoate level. The cluster analysis of the volatile fraction from the five coconut cultivars was found to be related to their genetic classification. CONCLUSION The volatile compounds of immature coconut water from five varieties were characterised for the first time. Volatile profile analysis could be a useful tool for the selection of Dwarf coconut varieties, which are mainly consumed as a beverage.