Abstract:
Cooking banana is a vegetable which can be stored for longer periods in intact form but
undergoes browning soon after slicing. A study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of selected
pretreatments in maintaining quality of minimally processed cooking banana variety Alukesel.
Minimally processed Alukesel was subjected to pretreatments of ascorbic acid (3%), citric
acid (3%), ascorbic acid (2%), citric acid (2%), citric acid + ascorbic acid (1.5% each),
sodium metabisulphite (2%) and distilled water (control), packed in polystyrene packages
and stored at 5-70
C for a week. The effects of pretreatments on sensory and physicochemical
properties (percentage weight loss, changes in firmness, pH, Total Soluble Solids (TSS) and
Titratable Acidity (TA)) were evaluated on day 0 and day 7, while browning was assessed using
a spectrophotometric method. Pretreatments had a significant effect on physicochemical and
sensory attributes of minimally processed cooking banana compared to control. Ascorbic acid
(3%), citric acid (3%) and citric acid + ascorbic acid (1.5% each) pretreated cooking banana
obtained higher ranking values for sensory properties (appearance, colour, odour, flavour,
taste and overall acceptability) while the same three pretreatments and sodium metabisulphite
(2%) pretreatment effectively controlled enzymatic browning. This research revealed that
pretreatments of ascorbic acid (3%), citric acid (3%) and citric acid + ascorbic acid (1.5%
each) were more successful in retaining quality of minimally processed cooking banana for one
week in cold storage. It could be concluded that Alukesel treated as above can be considered as
a potential value added sale item at local supermarkets where cold storage facility is available.
