Edible flowers are increasing worldwide because they can improve the appearance, taste, and aesthetic value
of food, aspects that the consumer appreciates. However, some of these are highly perishable and have a short shelf-life. To overcome these problems, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) food processing might be applied, allowing producing high-quality food with enhanced safety and increased shelf-life. The application of HHP to vegetables has been extensively discussed and is already an industrial reality, but information on edible flowers is scarce and incomplete. Thus, in order to summarize the current knowledge on potential applications of HHP treatment in edible flowers and to determine the effect of this treatment on physical (e.g., color and texture) and nutritional characteristics as well as on microbial and enzymatic inactivation, a literature review was performed. It was stated that broccoli and cauliflower (inflorescences, usually not considered by consumers as flowers) have been the most studied, existing few information for other edible flowers. Thus, much more works are needed to better understand the effect and mechanisms behind HHP, and to define the adequate technological conditions for each flower.
The authors acknowledge the Portuguese
Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for the financial
support provided by the research grant SFRH/BD/95853/2013 and FCT/
MEC for the financial support to QOPNA research Unit (FCT UID/QUI/
00062/2013), through national funds and where applicable co-financed
by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement, and
REQUIMTE through the Project UID/QUI/50006/2013.
