Abstract

Aonla is an important crop indigenous to Indian subcontinent which is used in alternative medicine, health foods and herbal products. It has got great potential in processed forms but little information is available regarding the dehydration and storage quality of aonla. The aonla fruits of each cultivar (Krishna, NA-7, NA-10 and Chakkaiya) were washed and blanched in boiling water containing 2% alum for 8 to 10 min. The segments were separated after cooling the fruits in tap water. The segments were stepped for 24 h in successively increasing concentration of sugar syrup (50 to 70⁰B); added flavors of ginger and cardamom in syrup having 70⁰B for three days. The excess syrup drained out and the segments were dried in cabinet drier. The segments were packed and stored under ambient conditions. The nine months storage study revealed that the moisture content in the candy was found to decrease with storage. It decreases from an initial value of about 16% to a final value of about 14% at the end of storage. All the treatments reduced vitamin C content candy. The tannin content of the various aonla candies was statistically significant with respect to aonla varieties. Total soluble solids, acidity, total reducing and browning was found to increase with storage period, while the non reducing sugar was decreased with storage period. On the basis of organoleptic evaluation and biochemical characters concluded that the candy prepared from cv. Krishna and flavored with cardamom powder found to be the best aonla candy.

Key words:  Aonla, dehydration, drying, blanching, candy.