Development and quality evaluation of ash gourd and banana pseudostem tender core blended jam alternative

Abstract

Ash gourd and banana pseudo-stem tender cores contain more fiber and other nutrients that benefit human health. This study was carried out to compare the formulated jam alternative with ash gourd and banana pseudo-stem tender core and to evaluate its physio-chemical content against the control. The jam alternative was produced with five treatments (T1: Ash gourd only, T2: Banana pseudo-stem tender core pulp only, T3: Ash gourd pulp 50%: Banana pseudo-stem tender core pulp 50%, T4: Ash gourd pulp 30%: Banana tender core pulp 70%, T5: Ash gourd pulp 70%: Banana tender core pulp 30%) with different formulation incorporating ash gourd and banana tender core. The moisture, ash, fiber, pH, and titratable acidity were analyzed for the different jam alternative treatments. The results ranged from 5.10-7.14 % fiber, 0.26-0.37% ash, 2.81-2.92 pH, 1.08-1.58 mg per 100g as citric acid titratable acidity, and 19.01-21.53 % moisture content. Significant differences (p<0.05) were observed between the treatments for moisture, ash, fiber, pH, and titratable acidity of jam alternative. Further, the sensory evaluation was conducted for the five different formulas with 20 untrained panelists using a nine-point Hedonic scale for taste, texture, color, odor, and overall acceptability. According to the sensory test, 100% banana tender core jam alternative (Treatment 2) was selected as the preferable sample out of the five samples. Conclusively, the jam alternative developed with a banana tender core was favored by the sensory panel.