Effect of pre-treatment on quality of minimally processed culinary banana cv. Kachkal (ABB group)

Abstract

A study was undertaken to assess the suitable pre-treatment for maintaining quality of minimally processed culinary banana. The experiment was laid out in factorial CRD with nine treatments replicated three times. The minimally processed banana slices were subjected to pretreatments like Calcium chloride (2%); Calcium chloride (3%); Ascorbic acid (2%); Ascorbic acid (3%); Citric acid (2%); Citric acid (3%); KMS (2%); KMS (3%) and distilled water (control), packed in areca nut leaf sheath and polystyrene packages which were wrapped with cling film and stored in refrigerated conditions till it remains in good condition. The TSS, acidity, ascorbic acid, calcium, starch and phenols showed decreasing trend with the increase in storage period. However, TSS retention was more in KMS treated samples (5%)) with least browning, while higher ascorbic acid (11.37mg/100g) and phenol (17.04mg/100 g) contents were observed in ascorbic acid treated samples. Similarly, citric acid treatment showed higher acidity (0.168%) in the samples. Maximum starch (0.35%) and calcium (10meq/100g) contents were recorded in calcium chloride treated samples. The maximum degree of browning was observed in control as compared to other treatments and the least browning was observed in the samples treated with KMS. Among the treatments, highest PLW was observed in control and minimum in ascorbic acid treated samples. At the end of the storage period, overall score obtained for the minimally processed cooked banana was highest in KMS treated samples. Thus, it might be concluded from the study that minimally processed culinary banana pre-treated with KMS (2% or 3%) could be stored in refrigerated condition up to maximum of 10 days without quality deterioration as compared to other treatment.