Studies on development of instant pumpkin soup tablets and evaluation of storage stability

486-491A study was carried out to develop pumpkin soup tablet with enriched β-carotene which can be instantly reconstituted in hot water. Ingredients of pumpkin soup tablet namely pumpkin flour (32.5%), corn flour (19.4%), milk powder (14.5%), onion powder (3.2%), pepper powder (3.2%), coriander (1.3%), garlic (1.3%), saturated fat (6.5%) and salt (13.9%) were optimised. Maltodextrin and xanthan gum were used as emulsifier to prepare two variants of the soup cube formulations. Proximate composition, β-carotene, textural attributes and microbiological quality of the developed product were determined during storage at room temperature. Sensory acceptability of the product was evaluated by reconstituting the soup cube in hot water. The study revealed that the product was acceptable and could be reconstituted instantly in hot water. Soup tablets prepared with xanthan gum as emulsifier were superior in colour, texture and retention of β-carotene. The incorporation of pumpkin flour in soup cube enhanced its nutritional value to an extent of 50% of RDI for β-carotene. The product could be a convenient alternative for preparing an organoleptically acceptable soup instantly and thereby saving packaging cost and space

Nutritional quality and storage stability of <i>chikki</i> prepared using pumpkin seed, flaxseed, oats and peanuts

118-123A novel pumpkin seed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">chikki (PSC) and pumpkin chocolate <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">chikki (PCC) with enhanced nutritional quality by incorporating flaxseed, oats and peanuts was studied. The ingredients of the chikki were pumpkin seed (25%), flaxseed (8.0%), oats (8.0%), peanut (9.0%) and jaggery (50%). The protein and fat contents were 12 and 15% in PSC and PCC and phosphorous was found to be 186 and 206 mg/100 gm, respectively. Equilibrium moisture content – Relative humidity studies showed the chikkis were non-hygroscopic in nature and hence can be stored at ambient temperature in polyethylene pouches. The fatty acid composition of the total lipid showed that chikkis were rich in oleic and linoleic acids with unsaturated fatty acids constituting 65 and 63% in PSC and PCC, respectively. The overall sensory quality determined on 9 point Hedonic scale indicated that PCC was the preferred one, with sensory score of 8.0 during three months storage at RT