Abstract
The subject of investigation in this research was the preparation of pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica) petha using osmotic dehydration. The primary objective of this study was to explore the use of osmotic dehydration as a method for the preparation of petha from pointed gourd. The process entails using sugar as an osmotic agent for the peeled and deseeded pointed gourd, subjecting it to different temperature conditions (60˚C and 70˚C) in tray dryer. Nevertheless, the effects of the treatments were compared based on nutritional value, total phenolics and as well as textural and sensory properties. The sample (B1) with the highest sensory quality was obtained at pointed gourd treated with sugar solution of 30ºBx at 60˚C for 9 h. Further, the product was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the osmotic dehydration can be an effective method for enhancing the storage life of product in terms of both sensory as well as nutritional quality.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-024-06159-x.
Keywords:
Bioactive compounds; Osmotic dehydration; Petha; Sensory analysis; Trichosanthes dioica.