Effects of chilling injury on the physical, cooking, textural, and water mobility properties of sweet potatoes

Abstract BACKGROUND Food texture plays an important role in whether consumers like the food product or not. Texture is one of the attributes used by consumers to assess food quality. Storage of vegetables at chilling temperatures (1–10 °C) leads to numerous physiological disturbances in the cells of chilling‐sensitive plants, such as sweet potato ( SP ), resulting in chilling injury (CI) and cell death influencing texture. This study examined the effect of CI on the textural properties of SP during storage at different temperatures (15 °C and 2 °C) for 14 days and after cooking at 100 °C for 10 min. The hardness, cell wall microstructure, structure, water distribution and migration, and color changes in the SPs during storage were evaluated. RESULTS The results showed that the hardness of chilled SPs was greater than that of non‐chilled SPs , indicating that CI during low‐temperature storage caused changes in physical properties and cell wall structure. Additionally, the water distribution and migration in SP during storage may also influence the texture of cooked SPs. CONCLUSION This study highlights the importance of understanding the relationships among physical properties, cell wall structural changes, and cooking texture changes during cold storage of SP . These findings can guide further research on SP texture changes and the effects of CI on chemical property changes and cooking texture. Understanding these changes can be useful in developing strategies to minimize the impact of CI during storage and improve the quality of SP products. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.