Tomato with favourable juice and paste properties

The quality of paste produced from processed tomatoes is affected by many factors, including variety, geographical location, growing conditions, ripening stage, post harvest treatment, and processing parameters.

Ideally, paste should be high in viscosity, colour, flavour, and nutritive value and low in serum separation. One of the major factors determining commercial value is viscosity, the properties of which are influenced by both the chemical composition and the physical structure of the juice or concentrate.

Cell wall components play a major role in rheological properties of juice and diluted paste. The consistency of processed juice and paste is determined predominantly by the components and properties of the fruit cell wall and by how these are modified during processing.

Processed fruit produced from a fresh market tomato variety suppressed in expression of the ripening-related polygalacturonase LePG or expansin LeExp1 exhibited increased gross viscosity.

(Kalamaki et al., 2003, J. of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, 51: 7456-7464)