Development of Sugarcane Juice Based Fruit Beverage and Studies on Qualitative Storage Stabiulity

Abstract

Experimental studies were conducted for the production of R TS beverage of sugarcane and pineapple juices. Quality evaluation of RTS beverage was carried out. This comprised of analysis of acidity, pH, optical density, TSS and sensory quality on 9-point Hedonic scale. Evaluation of quality parameters were done for fresh product stored for 25, 50 and 75 days under at 25°C. RTS beverage samples were packed in glass bottles. Selected levels of preservatives for RTS beverage were Sodium benzoate @ IOOppm, 125ppm and Potassium Metabisulphite @120ppm. Acidity of RTS beverage samples increased with increase in sugarcane juice ratio. Acidity was found to have increased progressively during storage. pH values of fresh as well as stored samples exhibited inverse correlation with corresponding values of acidities, Optical density of RTS samples increased with increase in sugarcane juice ratio. During storage, increases in optical densities of samples were observed. TSS of RTS samples increased with increase in sugarcane juice ratio. Minor increases in TSS were observed in samples during storage. All the samples were found organoleptically acceptable even at 50 days of storage. Only few samples were in good condition, while most of the samples were rejected at 75 days of storage. The best among them, having Sodium benzoate @ 125ppm and sugarcane: pineapple juice ratio 2:8 was awarded an overall score of 8.2 (between 'Like very much' and 'Like extremely'). Therefore, the developed RTS beverage may be stored for 50 days safely.