Specific heat (Cp) of tropical fruits: Cajá, Cashew Apple, Cocoa, Kiwi, Pitanga, Soursop fruit and Yellow melon

The tropical/exotic fruits are important sources of vitamins, fibres and other nutritional components such as anti-oxidants. In addition to its health claim, the pleasant flavour and sensory profile result in a increasing fruit demand worldwide. Therefore there is a need for better understanding its processing and properties. The thermal process is a needed unit operation for guarantee the fruit products safety. The specific heat (Cp) knowledge is essential for an efficient fruit pulp thermal processing. Although the exotic fruits Cp were studied for various authors, there is no work in the literature related to the pulps of cajá (Spondias lutea), cashew apple (Anacardium occidentale), cocoa (Theobroma cacao), kiwi (Actinidia chinensis), pitanga (Eugenia uniflora), soursop fruit (Annona muricata) and yellow melon (Cucumis melon). The present work evaluated the specific heat (Cp) of this eight tropical fruits at thermal processing condition (30-90°C). The fruits Cp values were close to the water Cp, and ranged from 3746.3 J·kg^-1K^-1 for the cocoa pulp, to 4037.1 J·kg^-1K^-1 for the cajá pulp. The results here obtained can be directly used for processing design. Moreover, it is potentially useful for future studies on food properties and process design.