Effects of Variations in Peeling on the Recovery of Water-Soluble Pigments, Betanin and Vulgaxanthin, from Red Beet Peel (Beta Vulgaris L.)

Objectives of this study were to measure the effects of three peeling methods on the recovery of water-soluble pigments from peels of two lots of table beets using whole beets as a control.

Red beets are a good source of red pigments which are natural pigments and can replace artificial dyes and lakes available on the market and those which have been restricted.

Two lots of red beets were peeled by three peeling methods and the peels were used for analysis of water-soluble red and yellow pigments in the beets. Vulgaxanthin-I recovery (yellow pigment) was not affected by the peeling methods. Betanin recovery (red pigment) was affected by the peeling methods and the lye peeling method gave less recoverable betanin than the other two methods. The amounts of pigments recovered from brushed and slipped peels were not significantly different from amounts recovered from blanched whole beets.