Production of dragon fruit jelly candy enriched with jaggery powder and its quality assessment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to standardize process parameters to produce fruit jelly candy infused with jaggery powder. Extensive analyses revealed that both red and white dragon fruit varieties exhibit a high moisture content of approximately 88.8% and low fat content at 0.32% and 0.25% respectively, which underscores their potential for health-conscious dietary applications. The study provided a detailed proximate analysis, showing that the red dragon fruit variety contains 2.03 grams of total dietary fiber per 100 grams, slightly higher than its white counterpart, making it an excellent choice for fiber-rich diets. In the product development phase, experimental formulations of jelly candies were methodically varied by adjusting the ratios of sugar and jaggery. Jelly candy was created using a blend of dragon fruit pulp and jaggery powder in varying ratios and the impact of these formulations on proximate composition, mineral content, and dietary fiber content was assessed. Different combinations of dragon fruit pulp and jaggery powder namely 100:0 (JC0), 100:10(JC1), 100:20 (JC2), 100:30 (JC3) and 100:40 (JC4) was utilized in the preparation process. As more jaggery powder was added to the Dragon fruit jelly candy recipes there was a clear rise the mineral content of all jelly candy samples due to the addition of jaggery powder which is naturally rich in minerals. The elevated mineral content in the developed jelly candy can be attributed to the high mineral content present in jaggery powder. Furthermore, the dietary fiber content in the prepared jelly candy exhibited a consistent increase with the rise in jaggery powder concentration. The sensory evaluation process highlighted a particular formulation (JC3), which consisted of 25 grams of sugar and 30 grams of jaggery powder. This formulation achieved the highest scores across all sensory attributes assessed, including a texture score of 8.6 and an overall acceptability of 8.6 on a nine-point hedonic scale, indicating a strong consumer preference for this balance of sweetness and texture.