Annals of Agri-Bio Research l0

(l)

97

-100, 2005

Storage Studies in Guava Cheese

SURABIII RAI, VIJAY SETHI ATID IC S. JAYACHANDRAN
Division of P6t-Hott'6t Tlrchrulogt, Indian Agriailtural Raeorch Insfitutq New Delhi-110 012, India

ABSTRACT
Guava cheese was packed in three different packaging materials and subjected to four months storage at low and ambient temperature. The storage stability was evaluated by analyzing periodically for changes in the nutritional and microbiological characteristics. There was increase in the TSS, total and reducing sugars, acidity and non-enrymatic browning with storage period, while ascorbic acid decreased. Microbial counts increased.

Key words : Guav4 fruit cheese, storage, ascorbic acid

INTRODUCTION
Guava is an important ftrit of India. Low cost of production combined with high nutritive value makes it an ideal dessert of the common man. However, it is highly perishable and very few processed products of guava arecommercially available. Thus, there is need to popularize more processed products of guava with the view to exploit its nutritive goodness as well as ensure more income for the farmers. Guava cheese, a confection similar to the popular Karachi Halw4 has a good future and can be a healthy altemative to toffees and chocolates. The present study was carried out to determine the nutritional and mircorbial changes in guava cheese during storgae at ambient and low temperature in three different packaging materials.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The guavas used in the experimen! were not garden fresh but were purchased from the local market, the variety and history of the fruits being unknown. Fruit cheese was prepared according to the recipe given for guava cheese by Jain et al. (1954) with some modifications. The guava cheese was packed in three types of packaging material viz., butter paper bags, polyethylene pouches and aluminium co-extruded film pouches and stored at ambient (16.6"-32"C) and low temperature (7-10"C). TSS was measured by a hand refractrometer and expressed as Brix. Titratable acidity was determined by the method A. O. A. C. (1980) and expressed as per cent citric acid. pH was recorded with the help of a digital type pH meter (Control Dynamics). Reducing and total sugars were determined according to the method of Lane and Eynon ( 1923) and expressed in percentage. Ascorbic acid was determined by titration against standard 2,6 dichlorophenol indophenol and expressed as mgl100 g of sample (Ranganna, 1997). Non-enzymatic browning was expressed is O. D. at420nm (Ranganna"tggl).The guavacheese was subjected to microbial study initially and at the end of storage period of four months. Samples were analysed for the population of yeast and osmophiles in malt glucose yeast peptone agar (M. G. Y. P.) and malt extract yeast exfact 40olo glucose agar (MY40G) media (AP[{A, 1992).

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Rai, Sethi and Jayachandran

RESI'LTS AND DISCUSSION

The cherirical composition of the fresh fruits and cheese is given in Table l. During storage, moisture content decreased alongwith an increse in TSS as given in Table 2. Moisture retention was maximum in the samples packed in aluminium coextuded film pouches and minimum in samples packed in butter paper bags. The maximum TSS was present in cheese packed in butter paper bags (82.88' B) and the lowest (8l.ll" B) in samples packed in aluminium coextruded film pouches. The TSS was higher in samples stored at ambient temperature. The higher retention of moisture in aluminium co-extruded fihn pouches was due to the lower
permeability ofthese pouches to water vapour in comparison to other packages. Acidity increased
Table

l.

Chemical composition of guava fruits and cheese

Parameter

Fruit (pulp)
81.50 8.00

Cheese
19.36

Moisture (%) TSS("Brix) Titratable acidity (% cihic acid) pH Total sugars (%) Reducing sugars (%)
Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g) Non-enzymatic browning (O. D. at 420 nm)

0.60

3.6
630
4.80

80.0 0.75 3-44

7820
35.78

t63.4r
N.E.

572t
0.625

Table?. Changcs in moisture (7e), TSS ("Brix), titratable acidity (% ciric acid) and pH during storage ofguava chccse [Initial valuc : Moisture (19.36YQ, TSS (80-"Brix), Titratable acidity (0.75o/t citric acid), pH

3.Ml
Storage

priod
(months)

Packagingmaterial (moisture)
PE

Packagingmaterial

Packagingmaterial
(titratable

Packagingmatoial

GSS)

acidity)
ACF

(pH)

BP

ACF

BP

ACF

BP
0.780 0.780 0.785 0.796

PE BP

ACF

Ambient

I
2
3

18.20 17.80 t8.37 17.97 17.42 17.98 17.79 t7.t9 17.72 17.56 17.t0 17.69

80.04 80.53 80.13 80.86 8t.07 80.22 81.19 8r.74 81.09 8t.22 82.01 8l.l l 80.09 80.55 81.20 81.08
80.45 80.01 81.03 80.00 81.69 80.79 82.88 81.02

0.796 0.770 0.810 0.770 0.876 0.780 0.%0 0.783

3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.M 3.46 3.M 3.42 3.38 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46

Inv
I
2
3

t8.37 I7.86 t8.30 t7.92 17.44 18.37 t7.79 17.24 18.16 17.58 17.t3 I8.01

0.760 0.796 0.780 0.770 0.800 0.770 0.783 0.810 0.780 o3go 0.840 0.780

PE : Polyethylene pouch, BP : Butter paper bag, ACF : Aluminium co-extruded film pouch.

Storage ofguava cheese

99

with storage in guava'cheese at both ambient and low temperature (Table 2). The highest titratable acidity values were in the guava cheese paked in butter paper bags (0.940%o; ani ttre lowest in aluminium co'-extruded film pouches (O.7S}yo).Increasi in acidity can be correlated to the moisture loss since there was greater increase in the acidity in the samples, which underwent higher moisture losses. During storage, there was increase in both reducing and non-reducing sugars (Table 3). The increase in reducing sugars was highly significani and higher in samples packed in polyethylene pouches in comfarison to other materials. The percentage reducing sugars increased by 7.2% at both ambient and low temperafures. Total sugars increased slightly during storage. The increase in reducing sugars may be due to hydrolysis ofpolysaccharides and their subsequent inversion to reducing.ug*r. The inversion p.o""r,
Table 3. Changes in total sugars (7o), reducing sugars (7o), ascorbic acid (mgl100 g) and non-enzymatic browning (O. D. at 420 nm) during storage of guava cheese [Initial value : Total sugars (78.2%), Reducing sugars (35.78%), Ascorbic acid (57.21mgll00 g), Non-enzymatic browning (0.625 o. D. at 420 nm)l
Storage

Packagingmaterial Packagingmaterial packagingmaterial

(total

packagingmaterial

period (months)

sugars)
ACF

(reducingsugars) (ascorbicacid)

(NEB)

PE BP
Ambient
I
2 J

BP

ACF

BP
32.84 30.60 29.87 26.26

ACF

BP
0.797 0.835 0.971 0.932 0.704 0.743 0.796 0.815

ACF

78.10 78.50 78.20 78.40 78.50 78.37

36.67 36.83 36.06

35.32 37.17

37.t3 37.18
38.37 38.24 40.94 39.42 36.42 36.42

0.682
0.700

36.76 38.55 40.62 36.78 37.13

78.67 78.57 78.40

78.54 78.60 78.50 78.20 78.35 78.37 78.47

Ilw
I
2
3

34.86 32.37 29.41

34.42 33.12 30.74

0.766
0.792

78.23 78.40 78.43 78.50

78.20 78.35 78.37 78.47

37.r3 37.17

37.00 37.76 37.ts 38.27 38.08 37.19

36.45 38.42 38.17 33.23 35.67 37.37 31.47 33.91 36.05 30.t4 32.67 36.44

0.683 0.691 0.665 0.728 0.721 0.6s3 0.775 0.782 0.774 0.816 0.798 0.786

PE : Polyethylene pouch, BP : Butter paper bag, ACF : Aluminium co-extruded

film pouch.

being more pronounced at higher temperatures. The slight increase in total sugars may be simply due to the loss of moisture from the samples leading to concentration of all constituents including sugars' There was decline in ascorbic acid during the storage of apple cheese (Table 3). Highest loss of ascorbic acid was in samples stored in polyethylene ioucnes e6.-44%). More ascorbic acid was retained at lower temperatures. The loss tf asc'orbic acid may be traced to its oxidation and involvement in non-enrymatic browning reaction. The maximum loss of ascorbic acid at ambient temperature may be attributed to theiigher rate of oxidation of ascorbic acid. Lower retention of ascorbic acid in polyethylene pouches may be due to greater permeability of these packages to light and oxygen. During storage, there was u significant increase in non-enzymatic browning (Table 3). Non-enzymatic browning "ortlnuou. was highest in polyethylene pouches (0.932). Browning intensity was lowei at low temperiture thfr: at ambient temperature. This can be attributed to the higher rates of inversion of sugars and

100

Rai, Sethi and Jayachandran

breakdown of ascorbic acid and consequently higher rates of browning reaction at ambient than at low temperature. The microbial examination revealed absence of both yeasts and osmophiles in the freshly made cheese (Table 4). At the end of the storage period of four
months counts foryeast ranged from 0-30 cfir/g ofcheese with maximum counts in polyethylene pouches at arrbient (30 cfir/g). The osmophile species were identifi ed as Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. The samples packed in polyethylene pouches registered comparatively high

microbial counts and among them higher counts were obtained at low temperature storage. This can be explained on the basis of higher moisture retention at lower temperature than at ambienttemperature andthe higherpermeabilityofpolyettrylene film in comparisonto aluminium co-exfuded film pouches.
Table 4. Microbial counts of guava cheese after four months storage Storage temperature Packaging material

Polyethylene pouch

Butter paper bag

Aluminium
co-extruded film pouch

Ambient (16.6 to 3l.7oc)

Yeast cfir/g
30

l0
0

Osmophiles cfu/g
Yeast cfu/g Osmophiles cfu/g

n
l0

l5

n n

Low(7to
0
0

10oC)

REFERENCES

fficial Methods of Analysis, I4th edz. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Washington, D. C. APHA (1992). Compendium of Methods for Mitobiological Examination of Foods, 3rd edn. Jain, N. L., Das, D. P. and Lal, G. (1954). Preparation of guava cheese. Chem. Age of India Series 9 : 88. Lane, J. H. and Eyron, J. (1923). Determination of reducing sugars by Fehlings solution with methylene blue as indicator. J. Sci. Chem. Ind. 42:327. Rangannq S. (1997). Handbook of Analysis of Quality Control for Fruit and Vegetable Products, 2nd edn. Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company Limited, New Delhi.

A. O. A. C. (1980).