Preparation of pumpkin pulp and effect of different preservation methods on chemical and sensory properties during storage

Abstract

The main objectives of the study was to develop pulp from ripe pumpkin using different combination of water per cent and cooking time and to evaluate best preservation method for storage of pulp. Among different combinations of water and cooking time tried to standardize the method of preparation of ripe pumpkin pulp, the combination comprising of 5 per cent water for 5 minutes cooking (C2) was selected superior on the basis of chemical characteristics and sensory attributes for conducting further studies i.e. preservation of pulp by heat and chemical methods. The pulp of T2 (pulp+KMS @ 2000 ppm in glass bottles) treatment retained the highest β-carotene (6.52 mg/100 g) as well as ascorbic acid (10.86 mg/100 g) contents followed by T6 (Pulp + sodium benzoate (1000 ppm) + KMS (1000 ppm) in glass bottles) during six months of storage. Hence, it can be revealed from the study that nutritionally rich pumpkin pulp can be prepared which could be further utilized for the preparation of various other value added products.