Resistance of industrial mango peel waste to pectin degradation prior to by‐product drying

Summary Susceptibility of industrial mango peel waste to pectin degradation during storage at ambient conditions (25 °C, 63% relative humidity) for up to 5 h before by‐product stabilisation by drying was explored. Depending on the interim storage period in the wet state, pectins were recovered from the dried peels by hot‐acid extraction. Most important, pectin degradation during the temporary storage of the wet peels was insignificant, as revealed by yields, composition, average molecular properties, and techno‐functional quality. Hardly acetylated (DAc 2.5–4.5%), rapid‐set high‐methoxyl pectins were obtained at starch‐corrected net yields of 14.1–15.6 g hg−1. Irrelevant de‐esterification during peel storage in the wet state was confirmed by overall uniform setting temperatures. Arabinogalactans, uniformly indicated by high molar galactose/rhamnose ratios of 13.8–16.9 mol/mol and an arabinose percentage of 9.5–14.4 mol hmol−1of galactose residues, affected the galacturonide contents, intrinsic viscosities, and gel strengths throughout. The wet peels, derived from widespread manual peeling in mango canning, tolerated intermediate storage for 5 h, thus facilitating by‐product stabilisation on smaller scales.