Effect of Low Temperature Combined with Different Silicon Window Areas on the Storage Quality of Garlic in Air Conditioned Packaging

In order to determine the effect of different silicon window areas on the preservation of garlic in silicon windows, garlic was packed in polyethylene (PE) bags with an area of 30 cm×25 cm at low temperature in combination with 1, 3, 6 and 9 cm² silicon window films, and a control group of polyethylene (PE) bags without silicon windows, and the quality indexes were measured within 120 d of storage. The results showed that the area of the silicon window had a greater influence on the weight loss, bud to cloves ratio and colour (ΔE) of the garlic after harvesting, and a smaller influence on the hardness and water content was observed. The optimal silicon window area was 6 cm², the alliin content of garlic in the low temperature combined with 6 cm² silicon window treatment group reached 0.38±0.00 g/100 g during 120 days of storage. Compared with 0 d, the alliin content increased by 50.97%, the malic acid content decreased by 92.38%, and the contents of citric acid, tartaric acid and fumaric acid increased by 21.13%, 65.87% and 43.26% respectively. The principal component analysis revealed that the key indicators of garlic freshness were ΔE value, weight loss, shoot to clove ratio, water content and tartaric acid content. Considering the variation of each index and the results of the principal component analysis, it was concluded that the use of 6 cm² silicon window area combined with 30 cm×25 cm polyethylene (PE) bags at low temperature could effectively alleviate the deterioration of garlic storage quality. This study can provide a theoretical reference for the storage and processing of white-skinned garlic.