Abstract
This study investigated the mechanism for acetic acid pretreatment to improve cell wall integrity and thereby enhance the hardness of cooked Sagittaria sagittifolia L. slices by affecting polysaccharides in the cell wall. Distilled water immersion and 0.6% acetic acid immersion (the solid/liquid ratio is 1:10) for 15 h at room temperature could result in the conversion of pectin through different reactions during thermal processing. Combined in situ and in vitro analysis demonstrated that acetic acid pretreatment could promote the interaction of cellulose microfiber or hemicellulose with RG-Ⅰ side chains during thermal processing of S. sagittifolia L. slices, promote the entanglement between linear pectin molecules and make hemicellulose show a lower molecular weight under cooking, making it easy to firmly bind to pectin, which resulted in texture changes. The findings may help improve the texture of thermally processed vegetables and fruits and deep processing of starchy vegetables.