Abstract

The physicochemical properties of water chestnut (Trapa natans L. var. bispinosaRoxburgh.) were investigated. Contents of moisture, crude lipid, crude fibre, crude ash, and crude protein were 81.12, 0.36, 0.72, 1.33, 1.87%, respectively. Total soluble solids and titrable acidity determined was 7.2 and 0.142%, respectively. The shelf life of whole water chestnut at ambient, refrigerated, frozen and aqueous conditions was studied. The effect on weight loss, total soluble solids, titrable acidity, total sugars, color and internal visual analysis, eating quality and textural properties of white kernel were evaluated over the storage time period. Samples kept at frozen conditions exhibited better storage life in comparison to others. The frozen samples illustrated slow but gradual decline in TSS over the storage period. The total acidity, too, followed the same trend of decline in value from initial value 0.144 %. The decrease in acidity was sharp in case of control, refrigerated and aqueous samples in comparison to those at frozen conditions.

Key words: Water chestnut, physicochemical properties, TSS, shelf life, texture, eating quality.