Study on Physical/Chemical Characteristics of Fruit Juice and Suitability of Pear Cultivars for Juice Processing

The physical/chemical characteristics of processed juice of 95 pear cultivars in 6 species were studied,and their suitability for juice processing was evaluated.The results showed that juice yield of different pear cultivars varied greatly,ranged from 16.6% to 68.1% with average value 45.8%.The soluble solid content in the fruit juice ranged from 8.5% to 16.3%,its average value was 11.7%.The content of soluble sugar ranged from 6.3% to 15.3%,average value was 9.1%.The content of titratable acid ranged from 0.05% to 1.14%,average value was 0.29%.The sugar/acid ratio ranged from 7.13 to 126.40,average value was 48.33.The total phenol content ranged from 0.096 mg/g to 0.265 mg/g,average value was 0.169 mg/g.The brown-becoming degree ranged from 0.030 to 0.625,average value was 0.170.The cultivars of Pyrus pyrifolia(Burm.) Nakai were suitable for fresh juice processing because of their light brown-becoming degree,moderate sugar/acid ratio,good sensory quality,high yield and good storage ability.The cultivars of Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim.had the highest sugar and acid content among the tested 6 pear species,but their juice was mostly in brown.Hybrid pear cultivar Qiuxiang was a good cultivar for juice processing due to its light brown-becoming degree,high soluble sugar and titratable acid content,good flavor and storability,and moderate sugar/acid ratio.