This article presents a model for quality in qualitative research that is uniquely expansive, yet flexible, in that it makes distinc- tions among qualitative research's means (methods and practices) and its ends. The article first provides a contextualization and rationale for the conceptualization. Then the author presents and explores eight key markers of quality in qualitative research including (a) worthy topic, (b) rich rigor, (c) sincerity, (d) credibility, (e) resonance, (f) significant contribution, (g) ethics, and (h) meaningful coherence. This eight-point conceptualization offers a useful pedagogical model and provides a common language of qualitative best practices that can be recognized as integral by a variety of audiences. While making a case for these markers of quality, the article leaves space for dialogue, imagination, growth, and improvisation.

Qualitative Quality: Eight “Big-Tent” Criteria for Excellent Qualitative Research

The market sales of ready-to-use fresh vegetables have grown rapidly in recent decades as a result of changes in consumer attitudes, especially consumption of fresh-cut lettuce and carrot due to their use in prepared salads. Chlorine solutions have been widely used to sanitise fruit and vegetables in the fresh-cut industry. However, the association of chlorine with the possible formation of carcinogenic chlorinated compounds in water has called into question the use of chlorine in food processing. There is a real need to find alternatives for preservation of fresh-cut fruit and vegetables in order to improve the efficacy of washing treatments. Alternatives or modified methods have been proposed, as antioxidants, irradiation, ozone, organics acids, modified atmosphere packaging, whey permeate, etc.; however, none have yet gained widespread acceptance by the industry. For this reason the development of alternatives and markers in order to measure the efficacy of these alternatives are needed.

/pdf/extending-and-measuring-the-quality-of-fresh-cut-fruit-and-1zr9gkbr41.pdf

Extending and Measuring the Quality of Fresh-cut Fruit and Vegetables: a Review

The efficient development and production of high quality emulsion-based products depends on knowledge of their physicochemical properties and stability. A wide variety of different analytical techniques and methodologies have been developed to characterize the properties of food emulsions. The purpose of this review article is to provide a critical overview of the most important properties of emulsions that are of interest to the food industry, the type of analytical techniques that are available to measure these properties, and the experimental protocols that have been developed to characterize the stability of food emulsions. Recommendations are made about the most suitable analytical techniques and experimental protocols needed to characterize the stability and properties of food emulsions.

Critical Review of Techniques and Methodologies for Characterization of Emulsion Stability

Methods for the study of starch retrogradation

https://ucanr.edu/datastoreFiles/608-360.pdf

Biochemical bases of appearance and texture changes in fresh-cut fruit and vegetables

Issues pertaining to the texture profile analysis

Publisher Summary
This chapter discusses the major commercially available texture measuring instruments. Hand-operated testers are derived from the improved type of pressure tester. These are frequently called “pressure testers” but a better description would be to class them as “puncture testers.” The chapter lists the specifications of these puncture testers and presents some of the instruments. All these instruments use a spring to measure applied force with an indicator to show the maximum test force. This class of instrument is widely used to measure the firmness of fruits and some vegetables. The Bloom Gelometer is a puncture test designed to measure the strength of gelatins and gelatin jellies. It consists of a hopper full of lead shot that flows through a tube onto a pan, thus providing the force necessary to make a plunger penetrate into a standard jelly. This chapter reviews the early history of gelatin gel testing and discusses the necessity for frequent maintenance of alignment and adjustment of the Bloom Gelometer. All the universal testing machines are equipped to perform tensile tests. They provide a wide range of grips to hold different kinds of foods.

Chapter 5 – Practice of Objective Texture Measurement

TEXTURE IN FOOD. Volume 2. SOLID FOODS

Firmness of processed canned vegetables has been markedly improved by subjecting the vegetable to a low temperature blanching step at a temperature in the range of 125° F. to 160° F. and preferably from about 140° F. to 155° F. prior to conventional sterilization. Determination of blanch temperature conditions to produce optimum firmness in the processed food is made by first obtaining firmness values of specific foods at various blanch and hold temperatures and thereafter plotting the rate of firmness increase (Newtons/minute) against blanch temperatures. Preferred conditions, which vary for different foods, are obtained from individual plots for each food. Synergistic improvement of firmness results by combining the low temperature blanching with food grade acid (pH) and/or calcium salt additions.

Firmness in processed vegetables

Publisher Summary
The properties of texture and viscosity are perceived by the human senses. To understand texture and viscosity it is necessary to know how the human body interacts with food. Mastication is a process in which pieces of food are ground into a fine state, mixed with saliva, and brought to body temperature in readiness for transfer to the stomach, where most of the digestion occurs. After some residence time in the stomach the food passes to the small intestine, where digestion continues, and from there the nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream and distributed throughout the body. Pulverization of food is the main function of mastication, but it also imparts pleasurable sensations that fill a basic human need. Mastication usually reduces particle size by two to three orders of magnitude before passing to the stomach, where another approximately 20 orders of magnitude of size reduction are accomplished by chemical and biochemical action. If food cannot be reduced to particles of the order of a few multiples of 10–22 g, it is not absorbed and utilized but is excreted. This chapter gives a simple description of the human masticatory apparatus. Since texture is perceived by the human senses, one needs to understand how the body interacts with different foods because this is the foundation on which is built an understanding of what is needed in objective and subjective tests for texture.

Malcolm C. Bourne

Papers

Issues pertaining to the texture profile analysis

Chapter 5 – Practice of Objective Texture Measurement

TEXTURE IN FOOD. Volume 2. SOLID FOODS

Firmness in processed vegetables

Chapter 2 – Body-Texture Interactions