Development and Shelf-Life Prediction of Pineapple (Ananas comosus) Preserve and Candy

The present study was conducted to develop and investigate pineapple ( Ananas comosus) preserve and candy to assess its prospect in marketability and study their storage life. Pineapple slices were treated with 2% solution of common salt to prevent browning, then cut into cube shape and treated with 1% calcium chloride and 0.25% potassium metabisulphide solution and finally processed. The preserves were processed with 60° Brix, 65° Brix and 70° Brix sugar syrup. The candies were processed with 65° Brix, 70° Brix and 75° Brix sugar syrup. Initially the composition of pineapple preserves processed with different level of sugar ware found in the range as moisture content 33.09-35.65%, ash 1.36-1.42%, protein 1.01-1.07%, fat 0.61-0.66%, total sugar 61.37-63.73% and reducing sugar 30.52-31.46% and pineapple candies were found in the range as moisture content 19.05-20.88%, ash 1.52-1.58%, protein 1.15-1.21%, fat 0.72-0.77%, total sugar 75.70-77.35% and reducing sugar 45.16-46.39%. The sensory results showed that color, flavor, texture, taste and overall acceptability scores differed significantly (p<0.05). The preserve (P 2) processed from 65° Brix sugar syrup and the candy (C 2) processed from 70° Brix sugar syrup was the favorite sample of the sensory evaluation with the highest overall acceptability among others of the similar product. The shelf-life of candy (6 month) packed in high-density polyethylene bag is higher than preserve (4 month) packed in glass bottle when stored at ambient temperature (27° C to 30°C).