Analysis of Quality Change of Capsicum annuum in Growing Process from Different Producing Areas

As the common varieties of chopper pepper process, “La Feng 33” was selected as the research object. Five different growth stages of pepper from Shandong and Shanxi provinces were analyzed to explore the quality changes of pepper fruit during the growth process, which was essential for regulating the quality of chopped pepper and expanding the raw material sources. The results showed that the change trend of quality characteristics of pepper in the two regions was basically the same during the growth process. The content of V_C and total capsaicin increased with fruit growth to some extent; soluble solids, acidity, total polyphenols, DPPH· scavenging capacity, FRAP, ABTS⁺· scavenging capacity decreased first and then increased with fruit growth; organic acids, total ash, Mg, Ca, Mn and Fe decreased with fruit growth. In addition, the contents of V_C, soluble solids, organic acids and total capsaicin in Shandong producing area were higher than those in Shanxi producing area (P<0.05), but the peppers from Shanxi Province only had advantages in fruit length, fruit width and single fruit weight. Cluster analysis showed that the quality of pepper at the same growth stage was similar in different producing areas, and the green ripening stage (S3) was the turning point of quality change in the growth process of pepper. Overall, the quality change was similar between Shandong and Shanxi producing area, and the red ripe stage (S4) was beneficial for pepper chopping processing.