EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PARAMETERS AND STORAGE CONDITIONS ON LIQUID JAGGERY WITHOUT ADDING PRESERVATIVES

Abstract

Jaggery industry is a cottage industry in India. In today’s world liquid jaggery has been gaining a much importance due to its nutritional value. Studies were conducted to investigate the parameters affecting shelf life such pH, colour, brix , moisture content and range of temperatures on the concentration of reducing sugars. The variety Co86032 was selected to observe the effect of storage period on quality characteristics of liquid jaggery. Samples were stored at three different conditions i.e. room temperature(27°C), refrigeration (7°C) and high temperature (37°C) in pre-sterilized PET bottles for 90 days .In order to optimize the changes in properties physico-chemical tests were evaluated during storage. The pH decreased significantly, whereas, moisture content and reducing sugar increased significantly during storage. The changes in different attributes were significantly higher at 37°C temperature as compared to room temperature and refrigeration temperature. The results revealed that change in chemical composition was lower in case of refrigerated sample. Refrigerated sample was found more acceptable among other two samples after storage period of three months in terms of its chemical properties.