Influence of Modulated Vacuum Cooling on the Cooling Rate, Mass Loss and Vase Life of Cut Lily Flowers

Modulated vacuum cooling has been used in the bakery industry to control the required quality and reduce losses in the final product. In this study the influence of controlling the evacuation rate during the vacuum cooling of cut flowers was examined. The effect of this technique on mass loss, temperature reduction per mass loss, vase life and cooling rate were determined. Four different evacuation rates were analysed. Results showed that the greatest mass loss of 5·4% was found for the quickest evacuation rate of 374 mbar min−1 in comparison to a mass loss of 3·7% for an evacuation rate of 8·5 mbar min−1. The evacuation was seen to have no significant effect on the vase life and the final temperature achieved by the cut flowers for the cooling period examined. However, the cooling rate was influenced by the evacuation rate used.