Vol. 25, No. 1 (2026), Alim26644 https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/Alim26644

Valorization of dehydrated broccoli agroindustrial residues

 

Authors

J.E. Botello-Álvarez, B. Ríos-Fuentes, M.C.I. Pérez-Pérez, G. Rico-Baeza, N.L. Flores-Martínez, L. Fausto-Castro

Abstract

Mexico is a country that produces, processes, and exports vegetables, generating large amounts of losses and waste with nutritional qualities that can be used to create new foods. Broccoli is prized for its nutritional quality and is mainly exported frozen. In industrial processing, large quantities of the stem, rich in phytochemicals, are generated. In this project, the dehydration of broccoli stem cubes in a tray dryer with hot air was studied. Dehydrated stem cubes must achieve high rehydration percentages and retain their integrity when used in the preparation of soups and other foods. It was found that slow-freezing broccoli pieces at -18°C before dehydration favors their capacity and speed of rehydration in hot water. It was found that broccoli stem cubes dehydrated at 70°C retain a high content of phenolic compounds and their antioxidant capacity. The dehydration of pieces of floret was also studied comparatively, observing similar behaviors and results.

Keywords

Broccoli, stems broccoli, dehydration, food loss and waste, rehydration.

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