Abstract:
The mature wood apple was procured from the local market at bolpur district of West Bengal. Some of the wood apple were treated with hot water and some of them were treated with normal water, then scooped out the pulp with seed from hard shell with the help of spoon, dried the pulp by sun drying and hot air oven drying at 450C and ground the dried pulp in the mixer grinder and formulate the powder. KMS of concentration 0.5% and 1% are added to the powder. By this research it was found that, a good quality value added product produced from this fruit in the form of dried powder, as this fruits have some special medicinal and nutritive value. The prepared wood apple (
Limonia acidissima L.) pulp powder were compared for its chemical properties like acidity, ascorbic acid, TSS, TSS/acid ratio, pH, sugar, ash content, moisture content, total phenol content etc and nutritional properties. The wood apple pulp gets completely dried within 25-30 hours in both of the drying methods. At drying, Nutrients get concentrated except vitamin C and pH that were lost on drying. So, dried wood apple pulp powder retains more nutrients than fresh the one. There is no more such of pre drying treatments on the qualities of wood apple pulp powder. The quality is mainly effected by the drying methods. Different sun drying and oven drying methods had significant effect on changes in chemical quality of wood apple pulp powder. Oven dried fruit powder had the highest, moisture (6.0%) TSS (20.80%), AA (490µ g) and pH (4.80) value and TSS/TA (20.80) ratio, lower TA and shorter time of drying. Sun dried fruit powder had lower moisture (5.25%),TSS, AA and pH value and TSS/TAratio and higher, total phenol content (6.87mg), TA (12%) and longer time of drying (Workneh
et al 2012). Sun drying is cheaper, easier and cost-effective than oven drying and also remove more moisture than oven drying. Organoleptically, the hot air oven dried sample was liked very much in terms of its appearance, colour and flavor. So, in terms of chemical and nutritional properties sun dried wood apple pulp powder exhibited highest index than oven dried. Hence the wood apple pulp could be dried effectively using sun drying, preserved as dried powder and value added for its industrial exploitation. Since sun drying is also cost effective, the wood apple pulp could be sun dried, formulated into powder and utilized for the preparation of jam, jelly and other products with good gelling nature even during off-season.