Abstract: The effects of microwave treatment on the peroxidase (POD) activity of Pleurotus eryngii were investigated and compared with those of normal blanching method, boiling water blanching and steam blanching. In order to obtain optimal microwave treatment conditions for blanching Pleurotus eryngii, response surface methodology was employed to construct a quadratic regression model describing the effects of microwave power and treatment time on the residual activity of POD in Pleurotus eryngii. The optimal conditions for inactivating POD were microwave treatment for 59 s at a 570 W power. Under these conditions, a small amount of free amino acids was lost, and the sensory quality of Pleurotus eryngii remained good.

Key words: Pleurotus eryngii, blanching, POD, response surface methodology