Storage studies on wood apple katta meeta

Abstract

Development and standardization of wood apple Katta Meeta (candy), its acceptability, physico-chemical properties and storage stability. Woodapple (Limonia acidissima Linn.), commonly known as Bael. Four variations of wood apple candy (Katta meeta) containing different levels of pulp (45, 55, 65 and 75%) were prepared and compared with control (Tamarind). Proximate composition, textural attributes and microbiological quality of the developed product were determined during storage at room temperature and refrigerated temperature. Overall acceptability of candy decreased from 8.6 to 7.75 on 30 th day of storage, 6.35 on 90 th day of storage. WJC-4 (75%) scored lower values of 8.00, 7.80, 8.10, 7.90, 7.95 and 8.00 for appearance, texture, colour, aroma, taste and overall acceptability, respectively. Introduction Consumers are opting for convenient, economical and nutritious foods with better shelf-stability. The increase in trends in consumption of ready to eat foods and also reduce post-harvest losses the product was developed. Consumption of fruit and vegetables has been strongly associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and age-related functional decline. Wood apple (Limonia acidissima Linn.), commonly known as Bael, is a monotypic genus Limonia, native to India and also cultivated in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (Bakshi et al., 2001) [3]. Fruit is round to oval shape, 5 to 12.5 cm wide, with a woody, amazingly hard rind which is difficult to crack, greyish-white, scurfy rind about six mm thick, pulp brown, mealy, odorous, resinous, astringent, acid or sweetish, with numerous small, white seeds scattered through it. There are two forms, one with large, sweet fruits and the other with small, acidic fruits (Morton and Julia 1987) [2]. Limonia acidissima is well-known for its medicinal properties and has numerous described medicinal uses. Fruits of wood apple are refrigerant, stimulant, astringent, aphrodisiac, diuretic, cardiotonic, tonic to liver and lungs, cures cough, hiccup and good for asthma, constipation, tumours, opthalmia and leucorrhoea (Jadeja et al., 2005) [6]. The abundance of vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) in Limonia acidissima L. serves to protect H + carrier system and thus helps in tissue oxidation. Antioxidant along with hyaluronic acid maintains capillary tone by keeping the endothelium intact. Along with proline, ascorbic acid enhances collagen synthesis. Ascorbic acid increases Fe 2+ absorption, which in turn increases Hb formation. Blood loss due to ulceration will be compensated by Hb formation. Vitamin C also initiates the maturation of red and white blood cells (Rao et al., 1998) [23]. Gopalan et al., (2009) [9] reported the nutrient composition of wood apple for moisture 64.2 g, protein 7.1 g, fat 3.7 g, minerals 1.9 g, fibre 5 g, carbohydrates 18.1g, energy 134 Kcal, calcium 130 mg, phosphorus 110 mg, iron 0.48 mg, carotene 61µg, thiamine 0.04 mg, riboflavin 0.17 mg, niacin, 0.8 mg, vitamin C 3 mg. potassium 600 mg, copper 0.21 mg per 100 gms. Nayak et al., (2012) [13] studied the moisture content in the candy was found to decrease with storage. It decreases from an initial value of about 16% to a final value of about 14% at the end of storage. All the treatments reduced vitamin C content candy. The tannin content of the various aonla candies was statistically significant with respect to aonla varieties. Total soluble solids, acidity, total reducing and browning was found to increase with storage period, while the no reducing sugar was decreased with storage period. On the basis of organoleptic evaluation and biochemical characters concluded that the candy prepared from cv. Krishna and flavored with cardamom powder found to be the best aonla candy. Smidova et al., (2003) [5] studied the glassy state and the presence of crystals in hard candies. Hard candies are non-chocolate sweets usually made of sucrose and glucose or of maltose syrup.