Abstract:
Palmyrah (Borrasus flabellifer L) fruit is a
nutritious and functionally beneficial fruit with unique
organoleptic properties. Wastage of this seasonal fruit
is prominent in Sri Lanka during peak season due to
less industrial utilization. The availability of ready to
serve drinks using fruits like Palmyrah gives a good
option to consumers who prefer nutritional and healthy
drinks. This study was conducted to give value addition
to Palmyrah fruit pulp in the form of fruit pulp based
milk drink to promote its utilization. Acid application
and heat treatment were done to fruit pulp prior to
incorporation in order to reduce and mask its bitterness.
Pulp was extracted manually from well ripen fruits and
treated with 0.2% of citric acid which was found to be
the optimal percentage for this product, considering
the pH change of pulp and heat- treated at 85oC for 30
minutes to achieve bitterness reduction. The formulation
of pulp based milk drink included twelve treatments with
three levels (12%,15%,18%) of fruit pulp, two types of
stabilizers [Pectin and Carboxy Methyl Cellulose(CMC)],
and two types of sweeteners (Cane sugar, Palmyrah
sugar). Each sample was heated at 85oC for 20 minutes.
The best formulation was selected through sensory
evaluation by performing 9- point hedonic scale test using
20 semi-trained panelists and the results were statistically
analyzed. The most preferred sample among the twelve
treatments contained 15% of fruit pulp, 6% of Palmyrah
sugar and 0.2% of CMC stabilizer. Homogenization
was done at 10, 000 rpm for 7 minutes for the developed
formula to prevent sedimentation and layer separation.
The proximate analysis revealed that developed formula
is nutritionally superior than commercial sample. The
finalized product contained 4.4% of protein, 3.2% of
fat, 0.78% of ash, 10.11% of total sugar, 0.29g/100ml of
vitamin C and 15.98 GAE mg/L of total phenolic content.
The developed product did not show any microbial growth
in the analysis of total plate count throughout 4 weeks of
storage in the refrigerator.
