Once the peels are separated the mashed bananas are passed through screens that vary in size and type, depending on whether or not a ‘deseeded puree’ is desired and are homogenized.
The next step, de-aeration, is one of the most important in determining the color of finished puree. During the aeration under vacuum, the air present in the puree is removed to a large extend.
After de-aeration, the puree is held under vacuum is a surge tank, from where it is metered into the aseptic process. For concentrated puree, a vacuum evaporation step is done at this point.
The sterile puree is finally cold sterilized. When canning banana puree, the puree is filled into cans with plastic film bag liners, sealed and stored (2-4 °C).
Production steps of processing
*Ripe banana
*Peel
*Homogenized
*De-aerated
*Vacuum Hold
*Aseptic process
*Concentration
*Aseptic filling
The major restriction in manufacturing banana puree is its tendency to brown rapidly. Procedures for overcoming the enzymatic browning involve:
*Heating the whole fruit to greater than 80 °C for 3 minutes to inactivate the polyphenol oxidase enzymes
*The ripe fruit is immediately processed
*The blanched puree for 30 seconds at ~90 °C with rapid cooling, can also be frozen in bulk
Banana puree is an important infant food. It is a good ingredient for bakery products and ice creams.
Banana puree also used as an ingredient for dairy dessert, bakery items, drinks, processed foods and sauces and as part of special diets in hospitals and nursing homes.
Manufacturing of banana puree
