Cherry plum (Prúnus cerasiféra) – source material and processed products

Abstract

Cherry plums are one of the most common types of primary drupes and used in the production of juices, kompot, sweets, jams, confiture. In the catalog of plant varieties of Moldova there is no data on the species of cherry plum which can be used in production. Testing those varieties, from the point of view of agrobiology and chemical and technological characteristics, determines the direction of utilizing them in the secondary industry. Presently, there has appeared an interest in acids based on plants, which will allow to broaden their utility. This includes cherry plum, and will allow for these acids to be used in food products as natural acids (fruit nectar, berries and legumes, juices, sauces, condiments) in place of citric acid. From the varieties of cherry plum presented for testing there have been produced juices and puree (semi-produced from cherry plum) which was used to produce fruit based condiments and sauces. As well as providing tasting qualities, the cherry plum puree also confers acidity to the product. There were determined physicochemical indexes of fresh cherry plums and of their products, fabricated mostly in conformance with recipes and technologies used the food industry, but also with newly developed recipes. Recommendations of rational use of new types of cherry plum, cultivated on experimental plots of IP IŞPHTA, have also been developed, as well as the recommendations for stabilizing and expanding the sphere of use of cherry plums in the food industry.