INDUSTRIAL UTILIZATION OF GUDDAIM (Grewia tenax) FRUITS IN JAM PRODUCTION

Abstract

In this research, the industrial utilization of Guddaim fruits (Grewia tenax) as raw material for jam production was investigated at a pilot plant level. The results showed the whole fruits of Guddaim to be with high level of available carbohydrates (65.39%) and low levels of ash (4.16%), fat (5.32%) and protein (7.60%), on dry weight basis. Also, the fruits were found very rich in calcium (9021.27mg), magnesium (2638.29mg), sodium (510.64 mg), iron (140.43mg) and vitamin-C (120.21mg) per 100g dry matter (DM). In addition to that, the pulp of the whole fruits was found to be easily extracted after soaking the fruits for only one hour in hot water (100Co) at a ratio of (1:5), with reasonable color, total soluble solids (8.0%), hydrogen ions concentration (4.16) and yield (44.5%), compared to cold extraction method. Therefore, Guddaim jam recipe which is used in this study was found to give satisfactory jam with high energy value (283.8 kcal /100g) and appreciable amounts of calcium (85.0mg), magnesium (70.0mg), sodium (62.0mg), iron (5.0mg) and vitamin- C (7.0mg) per 100g jam. Thus, the product has been found to meet the recommended levels of calcium and iron for young children and mothers, specially during pregnancy and lactation periods according to the FAO / WHO. Finally, the results obtained from the sensory evaluations of the end products showed insignificant differences (p≤ 0.05) between Guddaim jam samples (with or without flavours) with regard to their color, flavour, taste , consistency and overall quality. But, Guddaim jam with Apricot flavour was found to be the best among the different jam samples.