The sensitivity and short duration of edible flowers have led to the use of several technologies to increase their post-harvest life. These technologies enable consumers to have access to a quality product with characteristics similar to those at the time of harvest, and such methods also have a considerable impact on producers, who are able to benefit from longer flower shelf life. Edible flowers begin to lose their bioactive components soon after harvest, and technologies can be used to preserve them for fresh or dried consumption. This chapter covers the following main techniques for delaying the senescence of edible flowers: refrigeration, preservatives, irradiation, edible films, and drying methods. Some techniques, such as dehydration by freeze drying, fluidized bed drying, or spray drying, require sophisticated equipment and, as a result, are used on an industrial scale, mainly for extraction of bioactive compounds and dyes. Other post-harvest preservation methods are simpler, such as refrigeration, natural drying, or oven drying, and can be used by small farmers for marketing fresh products. These techniques can be applied separately or in combination, providing different responses according to the species, cultivar, and product use.

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Postharvest Technologies Applied to Edible Flowers

  • Elka Fabiana Aparecida Almeida,
  • Juliana Pinto de Lima,
  • Ariane Castricini,
  • Gabriel Sthefano Lourenço

摘要

The sensitivity and short duration of edible flowers have led to the use of several technologies to increase their post-harvest life. These technologies enable consumers to have access to a quality product with characteristics similar to those at the time of harvest, and such methods also have a considerable impact on producers, who are able to benefit from longer flower shelf life. Edible flowers begin to lose their bioactive components soon after harvest, and technologies can be used to preserve them for fresh or dried consumption. This chapter covers the following main techniques for delaying the senescence of edible flowers: refrigeration, preservatives, irradiation, edible films, and drying methods. Some techniques, such as dehydration by freeze drying, fluidized bed drying, or spray drying, require sophisticated equipment and, as a result, are used on an industrial scale, mainly for extraction of bioactive compounds and dyes. Other post-harvest preservation methods are simpler, such as refrigeration, natural drying, or oven drying, and can be used by small farmers for marketing fresh products. These techniques can be applied separately or in combination, providing different responses according to the species, cultivar, and product use.