Effect of a commercial pectinmethylesterase on tomato paste consistency

Background: Consistency is one of the main traits that define commercial quality and price of tomato paste. Pectins are partially responsible for consistency in tomato paste, therefore enzymatic pectin modification could be used to increase paste consistency. Results: This work reports the effects of a commercial enzymatic preparation of pectin-methyl-esterase (PME) (NovoShape™) on tomato paste consistency taking into account variables as enzyme/substrate ratio (0,1% w/w - 1% w/w), reaction time (0 hr - 3 hrs) and reaction temperature (40°C-60°C). The results indicate that NovoShape™ increased consistency when reaction temperature ranged from 40 to 50°C with an enzyme/substrate ratio of 0.5 to 1 (l PME solution/g tomato paste on dry base). On the other hand, enzymatic treatment was not effective at 60°C with an enzyme/substrate ratio of 0.1%. Conclusions: Based on these results, addition of NovoShape™ is a good technological approach to increase tomato paste consistency.