Industrialization potential of palm heart of Roystonea spp palms

The objective of this research was to evaluate the industrial potential of four palms species of the genus Roystonea for the production of pickled palm heart. Moisture content and acidification curve analyses were performed on in natura palm heart. The stalks and basal portion of the palm heart of the species R. oleracea, R. regia, R. borinqueana, R. altissima were processed in the form of acidified and pasteurized preserves, packaged in glass jars. The R. altíssima palm heart was also processed into acidified and pasteurized preserves, packaged in flexible packaging. The pickled palm heart samples were subjected to free space, vacuum, liquid and drained weight, equilibrium pH, objective color and instrumental texture analyses. For sensory evaluation, structured scale tests were carried out with 12 points and 15 trained tasters. For decreasing the initial pH of the raw material to 4.2 - 4.3, 0.525 g were needed for R. altissima, R. borinqueana and R. regia and 0.450 g of citric acid/100 g of palm heart stalks for R. oleracea. The hearts of palm in glass jars presented equilibrium pH values, average vacuum and free space within the safety line required for the product and in accordance with the Codex Alimentarius. The sensory evaluation indicated good quality, with no odor or taste uncharacteristic of hearts of palm being detected in general. Packaging in flexible packaging presents the possibility of better use of the basal palm heart.