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Abstract

Cooking with Microwave Bags Affects the Quality of Broccoli: Easy-to-Cook Is a Friend or Foe? †

1
Instituto de Ingeniería Química, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de la República, Julio Herrera y Reissig 565, Montevideo 11600, Uruguay
2
Phytochemistry and Healthy Food Laboratory (LabFAS), Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, Campus Universitario de Espinardo-Edificio 25, 30100 Murcia, Spain
3
Departamento de Ingeniería Agronómica (ETSIA), Instituto de Biotecnología Vegetal, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Paseo Alfonso XIII, 48, 30203 Murcia, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Presented at the 2nd International Electronic Conference on Foods—“Future Foods and Food Technologies for a Sustainable World”, 15–30 October 2021; Available online: https://foods2021.sciforum.net/.
Biol. Life Sci. Forum 2021, 6(1), 7; https://doi.org/10.3390/Foods2021-11059
Published: 14 October 2021

Abstract

:
Cooking vegetables in microwave bags has become a popular cooking method. However, information about the effect of this cooking method on the phytochemical content and microbiological safety of vegetables is limited. The aim of this work was to study the effect of microwave-bag cooking vs. conventional microwaving, on the phytochemical content and microbiological quality of broccoli florets. The influence of cooking time on these quality parameters was also evaluated. Broccoli florets were placed into microwaveable bags and cooked in a microwave oven for 3 and 5 min. The product cooked under the same conditions, without using bag, was used as a control. Samples were taken before and after cooking. Glucosinolate (GSL) content and hydroxycinnamic acid (HCAs) content were analyzed by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn. To evaluate the microbiological quality, aerobic mesophilic bacteria, aerobic psychrotrophic bacteria and moulds and yeasts were analyzed. Microwaving broccoli for 3 min showed no significant losses of total GSL content, regardless of cooking method. For 5 min cooking, microwave-bag-cooked broccoli showed higher total GSL content (32.3 ± 2.6 μmol g−1) than conventional microwaved broccoli (26.4 ± 1.3 μmol g−1). HACs content declined by 40% compared to fresh broccoli, in all conditions (from 2.52 ± 0.08 μmol g−1 to 1.52 ± 0.31 μmol g−1). Microwave-bag cooking showed a greater reduction in mesophilic and psychrotrophic bacteria than conventional microwaving. The counts of moulds and yeasts were <102 cfu/g, independently of cooking method and time applied. Microwave-bag cooking is a novel method that has been shown to be microbiologically safe, as well as preserving GSL content, the main bioactive compound of broccoli. Furthermore, this option is a fast, easy and clean cooking option, to fulfill modern consumers’ needs.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/Foods2021-11059/s1. Poster: Cooking with microwave bags affects the quality of broccoli: easy-to-cook is a friend or foe?

Author Contributions

E.P.: Formal analysis, Investigation and Writing—original draft; D.A.M.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Recourses, Writing—review & editing, Supervision; P.M.P.: Recourses; P.L.: Supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Acknowledgments

Authors are indebted to ANII for granting Erika Paulsen a PhD scholarship and an internship at Phytochemistry and Healthy Foods Laboratory of the Department of Food Science and Technology at CEBAS-CSIC.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Paulsen, E.; Moreno, D.A.; Periago, P.M.; Lema, P. Cooking with Microwave Bags Affects the Quality of Broccoli: Easy-to-Cook Is a Friend or Foe? Biol. Life Sci. Forum 2021, 6, 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/Foods2021-11059

AMA Style

Paulsen E, Moreno DA, Periago PM, Lema P. Cooking with Microwave Bags Affects the Quality of Broccoli: Easy-to-Cook Is a Friend or Foe? Biology and Life Sciences Forum. 2021; 6(1):7. https://doi.org/10.3390/Foods2021-11059

Chicago/Turabian Style

Paulsen, Erika, Diego A. Moreno, Paula M. Periago, and Patricia Lema. 2021. "Cooking with Microwave Bags Affects the Quality of Broccoli: Easy-to-Cook Is a Friend or Foe?" Biology and Life Sciences Forum 6, no. 1: 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/Foods2021-11059

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