Visual appearance maintenance of fresh-cut 'Nam Dok Mai' mango fruit by honey dip.
The effects of honey solutions on preventing browning discoloration and maintaining visual appearance in fresh-cut ‘Nam Dok Mai’ mango fruit and the comparison of honey dip and commercially used citric acid and ascorbic acid dips were investigated. The mango cubes were dipped in honey solutions at the concentration of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 % (v/v) and the visual appearance and browning intensity (∆OD420/100g FW) were determined after storage for 24 h. The cubes dipped in 25 % honey solution showed the lowest browning intensity and the best visual appearance compared to the others. The 25% honey dip and 1% citric acid dip inhibited the browning of the mango cubes stored at 4oC for 6 days more than 1% ascorbic acid dip and the control. All treatments had no effect on the changes in weight loss, yellowness (b* value), hue angle and chroma over storage. The honey dip showed higher overall acceptance score and L* value and lower colour difference (∆E*) than the others. In conclusion, 25% honey dip showed a potential maintaining visual appearance and inhibiting browning discoloration in fresh-cut ‘Nam Dok Mai’ mango fruit during storage.