Supermarket shelves are filled during the summer with endless options of gazpachos and salmorejos. Thus, while before only pasteurized references were found; now the fresh versions are gaining more and more ground. There are two ways of offering this recipe that find both supporters and detractors.
A good witness to the boom that fresh produce has experienced in recent years is at the entrance to the , since this summer it has successfully presented its fresh gazpacho and salmorejo recipe under the Sabores de la Esteban brand. However, not everything has been good news, since the latest analysis by the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has placed the products of the television partner
The truth is that the organization threw a dart at fresh gazpachos and salmorejos in its analysis, those that do not undergo any type of heat treatment, such as pasteurization. The OCU assumes that they are not necessarily tastier or more nutritious. Of course, it highlights that they are on average 20% more expensive and are usually distinguished by being marketed in a pet plastic container, compared to the traditional brick. In addition, the first positions of its ranking of best
Fresh and pasteurized salmorejo according to science
An article from the Sinc Agency collects that compares pasteurized salmorejo and that sold as fresh with a sample of homemade product.
The results of this study show that the heat treatment of pasteurized salmorejo significantly influences the color of the final product, showing a less red tone and somewhat darker than traditional cream.
On the other hand, pasteurized salmorejo show more antioxidant activity than fresh and homemade salmorejo. But when the amount of water in the products was taken into account, it was the homemade salmorejo that ‘won’ in this section. Finally, the researchers stressed that, if the physicochemical and functional properties of the salmorejo analyzed are taken into account, the product packaged as fresh has more similarities with the pasteurized product than with homemade salmorejo.
Survival of pathogens in salmorejo
The most negative side of fresh salmorejos is the possible intoxication. Thus, the Sinc Agency explains that when the salmorejo that is consumed is not pasteurized, there is a risk —small, reducible and controlled— of food contamination. To explore this possibility, a team from the University of Jaén studied how three well-known and potentially foodborne pathogens grow and survive—E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria—in fresh and treated salmorejo in different processes.
The research found that E. coli bacteria survived the best of the three pathogens tested, both in control samples (unaltered and stored directly) and in those treated by high-pressure pasteurization (at 400, 600 and 800 megapascals). In those experimental samples, the E. coli bacteria count dropped considerably and the surviving cells were apparently severely injured. Only salmorejos subjected to treatments of 600 megapascals or more lacked these bacteria.
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