Whole apples were cut with a sharp or dull knife, and whole cabbages and crisp lettuce heads were cut into salad or thin strips with a knife or by hand. The fresh-cut apples, cabbages, and lettuce were packed in low-density polyethylene bags and kept at 4°C, and their qualities were investigated. Browning and softening of the apples that were cut with a sharp knife were more delayed than those of the apples that were cut with a dull knife. The soluble solids and pH of the fresh-cut apples were not affected by the sharpness of the cutting blade. The browning indexes of the fresh-cut cabbages and lettuce were significantly lower in the samples that were cut with a knife than by hand and in the samples that were cut into large pieces. The results suggest that the cutting blade sharpness, cutting tools, and cut types affected the quality of the fresh-cut apples and leafy vegetables, and that the cutting methods which minimized the cutting damage should be used to retard the browning and softening of the produce

• 정헌식(경북대학교 식품생물산업연구소) | Hun-Sik Chung
• 정문철(한국식품연구원) | Moon-Cheol Jeong
• 문광덕(경북대학교 식품생물산업연구소, 경북대학교 식품공학부) | Kwang-Deog Moon Corresponding author