Impact of Open-pan Cooking Prior to Drying on Physicochemical, Phytochemical, and Antioxidant Properties of Cashew Apple Leather Puree Blends

In Côte d'Ivoire, 90% of cashew apples are currently wasted and converting them into fruit leather is a promising sustainable valorization strategy. This study focuses on developing cashew apple leather puree blends and evaluating the impact of cooking before drying on their characteristics. Starting with a base puree of cashew apple and mango (CMP), five formulations of leather puree were developed: F1 (CM, plain), F2 (CM-roselle), F3 (CM-tamarind), F4 (CM-baobab) and F5 (CM-ginger). Moisture content (68.95±0.66-73.91±0.08%), pH (3.19±0.01-3.26±0.03), Total soluble solids (24.34±0.03-24.74±0.02 °Brix) and titratable acidity (0.92±0.02-1.64±0.02%) varied across the formulated leather purees. Both F2 and F4 exhibited the highest total phenolic content, with F2 exhibiting the highest flavonoids and F4 the highest tannin content. The fresh purees of F2 and F1 were richer in carotenoids and vitamin C, respectively, and that of F2 exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. Significant variations in all evaluated parameters (on a dry weight basis) were observed when freshly formulated leather purees were cooked at 80 °C for 14 minutes in an open stainless-steel pan. In terms of phytochemical content and antioxidant activity, F4 and F5 showed the greatest decrease at all levels. Only F2 showed an increase in tannins. However, carotenoids, tannins, and antioxidant activity increased in F1, only the last two increased in F3. This study showed that formulating cashew apple puree blends for leather production is an effective way to produce functional snacks. However, the cooking step before drying must be customized because each blend reacts differently to heat.