Kajian Penggunaan Ice Gel sebagai Media Pendingin pada Kemasan untuk Distribusi Sawi Hijau (Brassica juncea L.)

Abstract

The green cabbage is one of vegetable which is susceptible by heat, so it can wilted easily. The way to keep the freshness of green cabbage is by cooling the comodity using cold storage. Ice gel is kind of liquid cold storage which is used to store the crops at low temperature. Based on the idea, if need some study about the using of ice gel as cold storage in packaging to ditribute green cabbage. The used method was designing pattern of placement of ice gel inside packaging. Four pieces of ice gels with dimension 30x20x3 cm with 1 kg of weight were placed in the packaging with two position. Parameters which are measured were temperature distribution and changes of green cabbages quality. The characteristic of ice gel with dimension 30x20x3 cm and 1 kg of weight had frozen temperature -7 ⁰C, melting temperature 0.5⁰C, and long liquidation 850 minutes. Temperature distribution of green cabbage with hydrocooling or without hydrocooling inside ice gel cold storage in first position had stability of temperature between 22 ⁰C-24 ⁰C during 1400-1500 minutes, meanwhile for second position can stand under 20 ⁰C relatively during 1600-1800 minutes. Ice gel has good effect to all measured parameters of green cabbages.