Technical Bulletin No. 1

Aonla (Emblica oficinalis Gaertn.):

Post Harvest Handling and Processing Technology

Authors Dr. Sunil Pareek

Dr. N. S. Rathore

Dr. R.A. Kaushik

Department of Horticulture

Rajasthan College of Agriculture

MPUAT, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Sponsored by

National Agricultural Innovation Project

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

New Delhi, India

INTRODUCTION

Aonla or Indian gooseberry (Emblica officinalis Gaertn) is one of the most

important non-traditional and underutilized fruits of Indian origin, having immense

potentiality of cultivation on marginal or waste lands. It belongs to the family

Euphorbiaceae and sub-family Phyllanthoidae. Aonla tree thrive well throughout the

tropical and sub-tropical parts of India either found growing wild or cultivated. Aonla is

quite hardy, prolific bearer and highly remunerative even without much care. It can be

grown easily on calcareous and slightly saline as well as alkaline soils where common

fruit crops do not thrive.

Aonla is regarded as sacred by Hindus and has great mythological significance.

According to Hindu mythology, one day meal is arranged beneath a aonla tree during

Kartik (October) when trees are laden with fruits. Hindu religion also prescribe that ripe

fruits of aonla be eaten for forty days after fast in order to restore health and vitality

known as Kaya Kalp (Benthal, 1946).

The fruit is highly nutritive and it is the richest source of vitamin 'C' among fruits

after Barbados cherry (Asenji, 1953), which is essentially having antioxidant effect on

human beings. The edible fruit tissues of aonla contain about 3 times more protein and

160 times more vitamin ‘C’ as compared to apple (Barthakur and Arnold, 1991).

Normally, single aonla fruit contains 20 times more vitamin ‘C’ in terms of antiascorbutic

value as two oranges. It contains 500 to 1500 mg of ascorbic acid per 100 g of pulp. This

is much more than vitamin ‘C’ content of guava, citrus and tomato fruits. The fruit

contains a chemical substance called leucoanthocyanin or polyphenols which retards the

oxidation of vitamin ‘C’ and presence of astringency (Sastry et al., 1958; Singh et al.,

1993). Hanif et al. (1966) noted marked antioxidant effect of gallic acid present in aonla

fruits. Thus, vitamin ‘C’ content of aonla is in no way lower than that of Barbados cherry

(Mustard, 1952; Ledin, 1958) from nutritional point of view.

The aonla fruit is valued high among indigenous medicines in India. It has been

recognized as Amritphal in oldest scriptures (Anonymous, 1952; Chopra et al., 1958). It

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is valued as an antiascorbutic, diuretic, laxative (Nadkarni, 1927), antibiotic (Ray and

Majumdar, 1976) and acidic, cooling and refrigerant (Singh et al., 1993). Dried fruit is

useful in hemorrhage, diarrhea, chronic dysentery, diabetes, jaundice, dyspepsia and

cough. Aonla is the main ingredients in chavanprash and triphla.

Aonla may be an important fruits of future due to its high medicinal and

nutritional value, high productivity per unit area and suitability even in the wastelands

particularly in salt affected soils. It has immense scope for processing and value addition

as the fruits are not consumed fresh or in raw state as it is highly acidic and astringent.

For an underutilized species of its economic stature, the genetic improvement

work on aonla is noteworthy. It is a species researched by several research institutions

and universities and this has resulted in the development of a large number of varieties,

standardization of cultivation practices, post harvest technology and processing. The

relevant findings on post harvest management and processing have been used in this

bulletin to meet the requirement of research workers, extension workers, growers and

processors.

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POST HARVEST HANDLING

Post harvest management activities start immediately after harvesting of fruits at

proper maturity level. This also includes number of activities such as minimal or primary

processing at field level i.e., removing field heat, sorting, grading and packaging for

transportation, secondary processing for value addition and finally packaging and

marketing. Post harvest management of fruits depends on number of factors such as

cultivation and production practices adopted, quantity and quality of fruits obtained after

harvesting, size of farm and orchard, expected return and value addition near by if any,

etc. Production practices have a tremendous effect on the quality of fruits at harvest and

on post harvest quality and shelf life of products. In addition, environmental factors such

as soil type, temperature, relative humidity, air flow rate, frost and rainy weather also

affect the storage life and quality.

The harvest and post harvest management of aonla fruits includes proper maturity

indices, washing (removing field heat), sorting and grading, pre treatment or other

minimal processing techniques, packaging, storage, transportation and marketing. The

detailed description of these steps involved in post harvest handling is given in this

chapter.

Determination of maturity indices: Harvesting crops at the proper maturity allows

handlers to begin their work with the best possible quality produce. Fruits harvested too

early may lack flavour and may not ripen properly, while produce harvested too late may

be fibrous or overripe ( Kitinoja and Gorny, 1999). It is therefore essential to formulate

harvest indices or criteria for harvesting the fruit at the right stage of maturity. Maturity is

that stage at which a commodity has reached a sufficient stage of development that after

harvesting and post harvest handling, its quality will be at least the minimum acceptable

to the ultimate consumer. Horticultural maturity is the stage of maturity at which plant or

plant part possesses the prerequisites for use by consumers for a particular purpose (Reid,

2002).

Being an underutilized fruit crop, less attention has been given on establishing

reliable maturity indices of aonla. However, several parameters like specific gravity, TSS

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: acid ratio, colour of fruit surface, fiber content, seed colour, heat units, days from

flowering to maturity can be used for determining maturity index of particular cultivar of

aonla in a particular region (Ojha, 1986; Singh, 1997; Singh et al., 2004).

After the fruits have set, the embryo lies in dormant condition and ovary does not

exhibit any symptom of external growth until middle of August. The diameter and

volume of the fruit increase rapidly thereafter, and the maximum growth is achieved by

November after which there is not much increase in size (Bajpai, 1968). Fruits completed

almost 70 per cent growth during last week of August to last week of September.

On the basis of season of maturity in eastern Uttar Pradesh, aonla varieties have

been classified into three groups i.e., early, mid and late season (Pathak et al., 1993). The

maturity season of aonla varieties is given in Table 1.

Table 1: Maturity season of aonla varieties

Early Mid Late

Banarasi Francis Chakaiya

Krishna NA-7

NA -10 Kanchan

NA-6

NA-9

However, maturity period is affected by various factors such as location, climate,

soil types, and other cultivation practices etc. In north Indian arid climatic conditions of

Rajasthan and Gujarat, fruits of Agra Bold, NA-7 and Banarasi matures by the last week

of October; Francis and Krishna matures by first week of November; Gujarat-1 and

Gujarat-2 by middle of November and that of Kanchan and Chakaiya by the last week of

November (Singh et al., 2006).

Specific gravity increases with the advancement of maturity and at the time of

maturity specific gravity should be 1.02 in Chakaiya; 1.03 in NA-7, Krishna and

Kanchan; 1.06 in Gujarat-2; 1.07 in Agra Bold and 1.08 in Banarasi, Francis and Gujarat-

1. Fiber content at maturity is 0.37 per cent in Krishna, 0.38 per cent in Banarasi , 0.54

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per cent in NA-7, 0.58 per cent in Gujarat-1, 0.60 per cent in Gujarat-2, 0.65 per cent in

Agra Bold, 0.72 per cent in Francis, 0.81 per cent in Chakaiya and 0.84 per cent in

Kanchan (Singh et al., 2006).

The Fruit colour range from dull greenish yellow to translucent in various

cultivars. The fruit skin colour of various cultivars is given in Table 2.

Table 2: Fruit skin colour of aonla at maturity

Cultivar Fruit skin colour

Banarasi Thin, smooth, semi translucent, whitish green to straw yellow

Krishna Smooth, whitish green to apricot yellow in colour with red spots on

exposed surface

Francis Smooth, thick at upper side and thin at basin, light green in colour

Kanchan Smooth, light green, strips deep red at pea stage which disappear later

on

NA-6 Smooth, semi translucent, light green in colour

NA-7 Smooth, semi translucent, yellowish green

NA-8 Slightly rough, thick and light green in colour

NA-9 Smooth, semi translucent, light green in colour

NA -10 Rough, yellowish green with pink tinge

Growing Degree Days (GDD) can also be taken in consideration for

determination of maturity. GDD or heat unit summation is determined using daily

maximum and minimum temperature considering base temperature of 10oC.

Harvesting Method

The goals of harvesting are to gather a commodity from the field at the proper

level of maturity with a minimum of damage in quality and loss in quantity, as rapidly as

possible, and at a minimum cost. Careful harvesting is special consideration in aonla fruit

because damaged and spotted fruits are not useful for fresh consumption as well as

processed products such as preserve and candy. Fully developed fruits, which show sign

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of maturity, are harvested at right time. This helps in size gain of remaining fruit. Delay

in harvesting results in heavy dropping of fruits particularly in varieties like Banarasi and

Francis. It also adversely affects the following year bearing. The method of harvesting is

hand plucking of individual fruits by bending the smaller twigs or shaking of twigs but

the fruits get damaged in later method while dropping on the ground. These dropped

fruits are the source of micro-organisms causing rots during storage to other fruits in lot

also. Therefore, aonla should never be dropped from the tree by using tree climber or

small stairs. Fruit harvester should have long climb and cotton or jute bags or pads for

collecting the fruits. Fruits should be harvested early in the morning or in the evening to

avoid the damage due to field heat. Harvested fruits should immediately be stored under

shade.

Sorting

Sorting should be done just after arrival of fruits in the packing house. Sorting of

aonla is usually done to eliminate injured, decayed, blemished, over or under sized fruits,

or otherwise defective produce before cooling or further handling. These un-marketable

fruits are called ‘culls’. Sorting will save energy and money because culls will not be

handled, cooled, packed or transported. Removing decaying produce items is especially

important since this will limit the spread of infection to other units during handling.

Sorting is generally done by manual picking over a running plateform.

Washing

Aonla fruits require washing immediately after sorting for removing field heat

and making suitable for secondary processing. Water remaining on the surface of produce

must be removed using an air flow and / or sponge rollers in automated units because

residual water may encourage fungal growth. For washing of fruits constant flow of clean

water in required quantity is essential. This tank for washing produce is made from

galvanized sheet metal, a baffle made of perforated sheet metal is positioned near the

drain pipe and helps to circulate water through the produce. Fresh water is added under

pressure through a perforated pipe, which helps move floating produce toward the drain

end of the tank for removal after cleaning. This removed water can be used for other

unproductive work including irrigation.

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Grading

Grading is essential to meet the standards for produce packed for sale through

traditional wholesale markets. Although, more primitive market may not use written

grade standards. But the products are sorted and sized to some extent. Aonla may be

graded according to weight or diameter. So far proper grading have not been standardized

in aonla. Aonla fruits should be graded into three grades as given in Table 3 (Singh et al.,

1993).

Table 3: Grades of aonla fruits

Grade Description

A Large sized fruit according to the variety. Banarasi diameter 4.5 cm and

above, free from blemishes.

B Small sized fruit having diameter less than 4 cm and free from

blemishes.

C Defective fruits i.e., blemished scaring and necrotic fruits.

The fruits may also be graded on the weight basis (A grade = 50 ± 5 g, B grade =

40 ± 5 g and C grade = 30 ± 5 g). Highest physiological loss in weight (PLW) was

observed in C grade fruits followed by B and least in A grade fruits during 8 days of

storage period at ambient temperatures. PLW in Francis cultivar was 12.50, 16.00 and

20.50 per cent in A, B and C grade fruits, respectively on 8th day of storage (Table 4),

however, it was 6.50, 11.30 and 14.50 per cent in Chakaiya (Table 5).

Table 4: Physiological loss in weight (%) during storage of aonla cv. Francis fruits

in different size grades

Grades Days after harvest

2 4 6 8

A 3.20 7.50 11.30 12.50

B 4.50 8.75 14.50 16.00

C 6.00 13.80 16.00 20.50

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Table 5: Physiological loss in weight (%) during storage of aonla cv. Chakaiya

fruits in different size grades

Grades Days after harvest

2 4 6 8

A 1.50 3.50 5.20 6.50

B 2.80 7.25 9.50 11.30

C 4.75 9.00 12.50 14.50

The final destination or utilization of aonla fruits is based on the size, weight and

fiber content of fruits. Large sized fruits with 45 ± 5 g weight and low in fibers should be

used for preserve, candy and pickle making, while small size fruits with medium to high

fiber contents is used in making of medicinal produce i.e., chavanprash. Small fruits with

necrosis and blemishes can be used in making trifla and for drying or powder making.

Packaging

The packaging protect the fruits from injury and water lose, and be convenient for

handling and marketing. Packages should also provide information about the product,

including the grade, handling instructions, and appropriate storage temperatures when the

product is on display. The cost of packaging is important, including whether the container

can be recycled or reused. Packaging provides protection from physical damage during

storage, transportation and marketing. Packaging also decides cost of transportation and

storage of fruits for later use. At present proper packaging is inadequate in case of aonla.

Aonla fruits are packed in gunny bags of 50 to 100 kg capacity. These fruits got impact,

vibration and compression injuries during transportation in these gunny bags. The

corrugated fiber boxes are better as this provides appropriate atmosphere and ventilation

inside the box, printable information at low cost and recyclable also. Newspaper lining

should be provided inside the CFB cartons. The appropriate size of boxes for 20 kg

capacity should be used. Minimum spoilage (16.0 %) was noticed in corrugated fiber

board boxes with newspaper liner package followed by CFB boxes with polythene liner

(17.0 %), where as it was highest in gunny bag without any liner (30.19 %) after 13 days

of storage (Singh et al., 2005a). Singh et al. (1993) conducted an experiment on different

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package containers of 40 kg capacity during distant rail transpotation, and found that

wooden crate with polythene liner is most suitable for packing and long distance

transportation of aonla fruits. Per cent weight loss and bruising were minimum in this

container as compared to gunny bag.

Storage

The fruit availability period of aonla is very short hardly 2 to 3 months and during

November to mid January aonla fruits available in glut. Therefore, storage of fruits at

appropriate temperature is essential to extend the availability period and to stabilize the

price in the market. Being an underutilized fruit crop, very little study has been done on

low temperature, modified atmosphere and controlled atmosphere storages of this

valuable fruit.

The shelf life is very short at ambient temperatures and it is differ with various

cultivars. Singh and Kumar (1997) stored fully mature aonla fruits at room temperature,

modified storage condition, zero energy cool chamber and zero energy plusmodified

storage condition. It was found that decay loss was minimum (26.56 %) in modified

storage condition on 24th day of storage, whereas it was maximum (48.70 %) in zero

energy cool chamber. The fruits may be kept in clod storage for 7-8 days at 0-2oC and 85-

90 per cent relative humidity.

Nath et al. (1992) studied the effect of post harvest treatments on shelf life of

aonla fruits with calcium nitrate (1%), GA3 50 ppm and borax (4%) and found that the

physiological loss in weight and pathological loss increased with the length of storage

period. Calcium nitrate (1%) minimized the weight loss during the storage period and no

pathological loss was observed with borax up to 9 days of storage.

To enhance the shelf life of aonla fruits of local cultivar, Patel and Sachan (1995)

tried calcium nitrate (1%), GA3 (40 ppm), CCC (400 ppm) and kinetin (10 ppm). Fruits

were dipped in these solutions, packed in perforated polythene bags and stored at ambient

temperature. The physiological loss in weight and rotting per cent increased with the

increase in storage period. Calcium nitrate (1%) was the best treatment to minimize the

weight loss of fruits. No rotting was observed up to 9 days of storage in kinetin (10 ppm)

treated fruits. GA3 (40 ppm) treatment gave better retention of vitamin ‘C’ during storage

of aonla fruits.

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Singh et al. (2005a) recorded the least physiological loss in weight (2.12 - 16.00

% and 2.15 – 16.34 %) and spoilage loss (2.40 - 15.00 % and 2.50 – 15.60 %) and exhibit

11 days of storage life in fruits treated with calcium nitrate 1.5 per cent + perforated

polythene bag, and GA3 100 ppm + perforated polythene bag, while untreated control has

7 days economic life under ambient conditions. The same treatments also show lowest

respiratory activity (72.10 – 82.00 mg CO2 kg-1 h-1 and 72.00 – 82.10 mg CO2 kg-1 h-1).

Therefore, the fruits treated with 100 ppm GA3 or 1.5 per cent calcium nitrate and kept in

perforated polythene bag are effective to retain the fruit quality till the last day of storage

under ambient conditions.

Singh et al. (2005b) assessed four aonla cultivars viz., NA-7, NA-10, Krishna and

Chakaiya for their shelf life at ambient condition (18 ± 2oC and 65 ± 5% RH). In general,

the aonla fruits showed browning of skin followed by loss of glossiness after harvest

during storage. Among cultivars, Krishna and NA-10 were more prone to browning than

NA-7 and Chakaiya. The cumulative physiological loss in weight, TSS, acidity and

tannins increased, while ascorbic acid content decreased on prolonging the storage period

in all the cultivars. NA-10 and Krishna exhibited minimum loss in weight, rich in TSS,

ascorbic acid, tannins than Chakaiya and NA-7. Greenness (-a chromacity value) was

maintained in cultivar NA-10 and Krishna followed by Chakaiya during storage.

Contrary to this, maximum yellowness index (based on L, a and b values) was recorded

in NA-7 and minimum in Krishna. However, the cultivar NA-7 exhibited least browning

compare to Krishna up to 10 days of storage. Therefore, NA-10 and Krishna have better

shelf life of 10 days which retained high vitamin ‘C’ content, glossy and green

appearance compared to NA-7 which can be stored for 6-8 days only under ambient

conditions.

Conclusively, due to its perishable nature, it is difficult to store aonla fruits for

long duration or transport over long distances. In order to have good income from aonla,

it must be sold immediately in the market. But, the problem arises when there is glut in

the market. To get profit during that period, proper storage facilities should be available

to help the farmers in getting maximum profit. The extension of shelf life during storage

should be made possible by checking the rate of respiration, transpiration and microbial

11

infection. Plant growth regulators, certain chemicals, fungicides, and low temperatures

have played a great part for short period storage.

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PROCESSING

Anola becomes ready for harvesting from mid November to first week of January.

The produce remains in the market for a very short span. Since, it is a perishable

commodity it needs quick disposal. Huge harvest of produce during peak harvesting

season creates glut and the growers are compelled to sale their produce at low prices.

Besides, aonla is not consumed fresh or in raw state as it is acidic and astringent. It is

therefore not popular as table fruit. The excellent nutritive and therapeutic value offer

great potentiality for processing it into several quality products i.e., preserve (murabba),

squash, candy, jelly, jam, syrup, pickle, chutney, preserved pulp, blended beverage,

carbonated drinks, RTS, supari, churan, powder, barfi, laddoo, segments in sugar syrup

etc.

The post harvest losses in aonla vary from 30-40 per cent due to its perishable

nature and glut during harvesting time, which reduce the market value of the fruit. Hence,

value addition through processing would be the only effective tool for economic

utilization of increased production of aonla in future.

Traditional and modern methods of processing

Aonla has been in use for pickle and preserve since ages in India and the methods

employed were based on traditional knowledge of grandmothers. Besides aonla has been

an important ingredient for chavanprash, a ayurvedic health tonic. The methods used

previously were unhygienic in nature and time consuming. The nutritive loss in these

methods was higher. The manual methods are costly, laborious and cannot maintain

quality of the products. Minor accidents have also been reported during manual pricking

and shredding and the shelf life of the prepared products was also less and the quality not

up to the mark.

The modern methods for preparation of different aonla products are hygienic,

consume lesser time and provide maximum retention of nutrients especially vitamin ‘C’.

The processes for preparations are standardized with proper preservation. There is an

urgent need to design matching processing equipment such as grader, segment separator,

pricking machine, shredder, etc., to develop a complete pilot plant. The engineering input

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in terms of machines will improve its quality as per international standards so that

products can compete in the international market (Goyal et al., 2008).

Aonla products: An over view

Aonla fruits are normally used to make preserve. A preserve is made from fully

matured aonla fruits by cooking it whole or in the form of large pieces in heavy sugar

syrup, till it becomes tender and transparent. Freshly made preserve is wholesome and

have an attractive appearance. When stored for a long period, natural colour and flavour

deteriorate on account of oxidative changes. They should therefore, be made only during

the season unless there are adequate facilities to store the fruits so that they are available

in the off season as well.

Although aonla preserve is quite popular, no proper attention has yet been given

for preparation of other products like jam, squash, candy, toffee, barfi, laddoo, and

preserved pulp of aonla fruits. Candy is an intermediate moisture food which is prepared

after shade drying of drained fruits impregnated with cane sugar or glucose. Like other

fruits, aonla can also be processed into good quality pulp. This can be used as base

material for preparations of different products i.e., squash, syrup, jam and nectar. Thus,

there is an overriding need to develop and popularize several other value added products

of aonla in view of the increase in the production. Availability of different products of

aonla in the market will also be served different categories of the consumers to select the

aonla product of their own choice. This in turn will benefit not only consumer, but also

aonla growers and processors by ensuring better economic returns.

Various studies suggests that many types of value added products of aonla can be

prepared and a great potential exist for better utilization of aonla than against its present

limited use in the from of preserve, chavanprash and triphla. However, more attempts are

needed to standardize the procedures for preparation of various new value added products

and to assess the suitability of aonla cultivars for preparation of these products. Also

removal of astringency from aonla fruits is important step prior to the preparation of

various value added products. At present different ingredients or chemicals such as salt,

alum and lime are used to remove the astringency in aonla However, very little

information is available with regard to their comparative effectiveness in the removal of

astringency from different aonla cultivars.

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Varietal screening for aonla processing

Processed products of good quality can be made only from good quality raw

material hence verietal selection is one of the important factors which affects the quality

of fruit products. Singh (1984) reported that aonla, fig and ginger are ideally suited for

making of candy. Singh and Pathak (1987) evaluated five varieties of aonla for

processing based on their physico-chemical properties and organoleptic quality. Out of

these five varieties Kanchan and Krishna were suitable for candy and jam. Banarasi was

suitable for drying and Chakaiya was suitable for pickle, chutney and syrup. Bhagwan

Deen (1992) observed that NA-9 was ideal variety for candy making. Singh et al. (1993)

also reported that NA-6 is an excellent variety of aonla for making good quality candy.

Nath and Sharma (1998) reported that Chakaiya cultivar is good for making nectar,

squash, syrup and jam products. Whereas, Banarasi cultivar is better for candy and pickle

preparation. Nath (1999) observed that Chakaiya was suitable for beverages (nectar,

squash and syrup) and jam whereas Banarasi was better for candy and pickle preparation.

Singh et al. (2004) evaluated five varieties viz., NA-6, NA-7, NA-10, Kanchan and

Chakaiya for fruit processing. The variability examined in physico-chemical composition

of aonla cultivars indicated the possibility of selecting a variety or cultivars suitable for

processing. NA-6 recorded lowest content of fiber, higher content of pulp and total

soluble solids with moderate fruit size and ascorbic acid content, while NA-7 showed

average physico-chemical composition with higher content of ascorbic acid. These

varieties have also higher productivity and fruits are free from necrosis or internal

browning, hence they seem to be ideal varieties for processing. Physico-chemical

composition of aonla cultivars is given in table 6 and 7, respectively.

Table 6: Physical composition of aonla varieties

Varieties Average fruit weight (g) Pulp (%) Fiber (%) Seed (%)

NA-6 41.40 94.27 0.87 4.86

NA-7 42.90 92.97 1.33 5.70

NA-10 44.84 93.57 1.30 5.13

Kanchan 30.92 92.36 1.40 6.24

Chakaiya 35.82 93.61 1.93 43.46

CD at 5% 4.26 0.97 0.51 0.96

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Table 7: Chemical composition of aonla varieties

Varieties TSS(%) Acidity (%) Ascorbic acid (mg 100g-1) Phenol (mg 100g-1)

NA-6 11.12 1.80 641.27 172.76

NA-7 10.96 1.95 733.63 185.10

NA-10 10.14 1.82 626.82 188.93

Kanchan 10.86 1.72 603.64 189.97

Chakaiya 9.44 2.26 655.64 179.35

CD at 5% 1.04 0.52 86.38 12.76

Referece: Singh et al. (2004)

Effect of pricking, soaking and blanching treatment on quality of aonla products

Ascorbic acid plays an important role in human nutrition. The retention of the

nutrients in the final products depends on the methods of preparation. Pricking, soaking

and blanching of aonla fruits are necessary to render the preserve and candy soft and to

facilitate uniform absorption of sugar (Kalra, 1988). There are many reports on losses of

nutrients during preparation of candy / preserve in different fruits. The loss of ascorbic

acid content during preparation of candy has been observed in aonla (Pathak, 1988;

Tripathi et al., 1988; Bhagwan Deen, 1992; Singh, 1997). Sastry and Siddappa (1959)

found that prolonged brine treatments of aonla destroy the ascorbic acid content.

Ascorbic acid content of aonla preserve decrease during preparation (Sethi, 1980). Sethi

and Anand (1982) found that 55.5 per cent ascorbic acid content is lost during

preparation of intermediate moisture food aonla preserve (including pricking, soaking

and blanching) and only 45.5 per cent ascorbic acid was retained in final product.

Tripathi et al. (1988) reported that the aonla candy retained 108.62 mg 100g-1 ascorbic

acid as against initial value of 571.76 mg 100g-1 in the fresh fruits.

Anand (1970) while studying the effect of certain pretreatments on the loss of

tannins and vitamin ‘C’ in aonla preserve found that soaking and blanching of the fruit

resulted in heavy loss of these constituents. Damame et al. (2002) reported that

unblanched dehydrated products were found to be superior to all the blanched dehydrated

products in terms of vitamin ‘C’ retention over a six months storage period. Among the

unblanched products, the aonla pulp recorded the highest vitamin ‘C’ content followed by

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supari. Among the blanched products the aonla supari treated with 2 per cent salt was

found to be superior in vitamin ‘C’ content, aonla candy and preserve to be the most

unsuitable sources of vitamin ‘C’. Results indicate that aonla pulp, supari and juice are

the most suitable sources of vitamin ‘C’ due to minimum loss of vitamin ‘C’ content

during storage.

Jain and Khurdiya (2002) observed that blanching of the aonla fruits prior to juice

extraction significantly improved the juice recovery, increased the density and tannin

content of the juice but reduced the vitamin ’C’ content by 12 per cent. Addition of water

increased the juice volume but diluted the juice and reduced the water soluble

constituents. Higher water soluble constituents and ascorbic acid contents were obtained

by blanching the fruits and separating the segments.

The astringency in aonla fruits is due to the presence of poly phenols or tannins

which make them unpalatable but they have therapeutic value (Sastry et al., 1958). Due

to this astringency the fruit is bitter in taste. Hence, astringency can be removed by curing

with either salt or lime. Sethi (1980) recommended blanching of aonla fruits for 4

minutes in boiling water while Sethi and Anand (1983) found that 25 per cent of ascorbic

acid and 24.4 per cent of tannins in aonla are lost during blanching. Geetha et al. (2006)

observed that blanching done prior to processing of aonla preserve has marked effect on

all the physico-chemical constituents of the aonla. Ascorbic acid content during the

process of blanching reduced significantly from 563.12 mg 100g-1 (before blanching) to

434.95 mg 100g-1 (after blanching) showing a loss of 19.20 per cent in ascorbic acid.

Similarly, TSS, acidity, total sugars, reducing sugars, non-reducing sugars, moisture and

pectin content showed a loss of 10.67, 30.78, 4.95, 5.83, 2.45, 2.20 and 21.60 per cent

respectively with blanching.

Phenolic compounds are important in determining colour and flavour of fruits.

The losses of total phenolic compounds during preparation of aonla candy have been

reported by Pathak (1988) and Tripathi et al. (1988) as compared to fresh fruit. Sethi and

Anand (1982) observed the loss of tannins during preparation of intermediate moisture

food of aonla as compared to initial value in fresh fruits.

Organoleptically good quality aonla candy was prepared by various workers.

Pathak (1988) observed that 2 per cent salt solution soaking of pricked aonla fruits was

17

organoleptically ideal. Bhagwan Deen (1992) and Singh et al. (1993) observed that

organoleptically good quality aonla candy was prepared with 2 per cent salt and alum

soaking of pricked fruits each for 24 hours.

Techniques of preparation for processed products of aonla

Aonla fruit is sour and astringent in taste, hence it is not popular as a table fruit.

The excellent nutritive and therapeutic value of fruit has great potentiality for processing

into value added products. Presently aonla fruit has significance in medicinal

(Chavanprash, Triphala, Amrit Kalash, Amal Rasayan etc.) and cosmetic (hair oil,

shampoo, hair dyes etc.) products. Very little attention has been paid towards the value

added food products as these food items can get position in national and international

markets. The most suitable recipe determined by organoleptic evaluation for some of the

important products is described here.

Pulp extraction technique

Nath (1999) carried out a study on the extraction of aonla pulp and suggested a

method for preparation of aonla pulp from fully matured fruits. In this process, the fruits

are blanched in boiling water for about 10 minutes to separate the segments from stone.

Equal quantity of water is added to the segments and in the pulper to make pulp. If the

pulp has to be preserved, it should be heated to 75oC and cooled to room temperature.

Potassium meta-bi-sulphite (2g kg-1 of pulp) should be mixed thoroughly and the pulp

should be filled in clean sterilized bottles and then sealed. The flow chart illustrating

extraction of aonla pulp is given in Figure 1.

18

Matured aonla fruit

Washing

Heating in boiling water for 10 minutes

Separation of segments and removal of seeds

Addition of water in ratio of 1:1

Passing through a pulping machine

Pulp

Squash Jam Toffee Fig. 1. Flow sheet for extraction of aonla fruit pulp

This process involves attention for retention of vitamin ‘C’ at the time of

separation of segments and removal of seeds. It has been observed that there is

approximately 30 to 35 per cent loss of vitamin ‘C’ at the time of heating in boiling

water.

Recent pulp extraction technique

In this method most of unit operations are same as mentioned above, except

process for separating segments and removing seeds from fruits. In this method a

shreadder machine can be used for removing seeds instead of putting in boiling water for

10 minutes. The flow chart for this technique is shown in Figure 2.

19

Fully matured aonla fruits

Washing for removing field heat and sanitization

Shreadder machine Seeds removed Shreades + addition of water in 1:1 ratio

Passing through a pulping machine

Pulp

Squash Jam Toffee Fig. 2. Flow chart for extraction of aonla fruit pulp through mechanization

Pickle

Small sized aonla fruits, which are not suitable for preparation of preserve and

other confectionary items, may be utilized for pickle making. To improve upon the

texture of the fruit and also to remove astringency brining is important in pickling. The

flow chart for preparation of aonla pickle is given in Figure 3. When pickle is ready after

few days, store it at room temperature (Fig. 3)

20

Method -1 Method-2

Selection of fruits Selection of fruits

Washing Washing

Manual/machine pricking Blanching for 10 minutes

Treating with salt water Conversion into segments and seed removal

for few days

Add spices, oil Draining of moisture (sun drying for 2 hours)

Leave it for few days in sunshine Mixing with ingredient (fried)

Aonla pickle Packing (glass bottles 500 g capacity)

Store it at room temperature storage at room temperature

Fig. 3. Flow sheet for preparation of pickle.

Premi et al. (2002) standardized the method for preparation of instant oilless

pickle from aonla. Two varieties of aonla (Desi and Chakaiya) were used for the

preparation of dehydrated oilless pickle. The overall quality of dehydrated pickle made

from pretreated segments of Desi variety was better than variety Chakaiya. For curing

aonla fruits for pickling, brining along with potassium meta-bi-sulphite was found to be

more effective for long term storage than dry salting or other pretreatment for controlling

of white specks, better retention of texture and nutrients in both the varieties. The drying

rate was faster in pickle made from cured and steam blanched segments of local variety

than in other variety. The recipe used for oil less aonla pickle is given in Table 8.

21

Table 8: Recipe for dehydrated ready-to-use aonla pickle

S. No. Ingradients (g) Whole fruits Segments 1 Whole aonla 1000 - 2 Aonla segments - 1000 3 Salt 150 150 4 Red chillies 10 10 5 Mustard 75 75 6 Ginger 50 50 7 Onion 150 150 8 Garlic 20 20 9 Jaggery 100 100 10 Cinnamon 10 10

Juice extraction

Jain and Khurdiya (2002) standardized a procedure for the extraction of juice

from aonla fruits. Blanching the fruits prior to juice extraction significantly improved the

juice recovery, increased the density and tannin content of the juice but reduced the

vitamin ‘C’ content by 12 per cent. Addition of water increased the juice volume but

diluted the juice and reduced the water soluble constituents. Higher soluble constituents

and vitamin ‘C’ content were obtained by blanching the fruits and separating the

segments. The relative efficacy of 12 different methods of juice extraction is given in

Table 9. Among the methods of juice extraction, centrifugal juice extraction recorded

higher density, soluble constituents and higher vitamin ‘C’ and tannin contents as

compared to crushing and pressing whole or segments of aonla fruits.

22

Table 9: Effect of different techniques of extraction on the juice yield and quality

of aonla juice

S.

No Process

Juice

recovery

(%)

Density TSS

(oB)

Acidity

(%) pH

Ascorbic

acid (mg100g-1)

1 Crushing and pressing whole

fruits 66.0 1.10 6.0 0.789 2.90 375

2 Crushing and pressing whole

fruits with water (1:1) ratio 168.0 1.00 3.0 0.47 2.87 203.6

Blanching, crushing and

pressing whole fruits 70.0 1.14 6.0 0.78 2.98 321.4

3

4 Blanching, crushing and

pressing whole fruits with

water (1:1) ratio

172.0 1.01 3.5 0.47 2.86 135.7

5 Crushing and pressing fruits

segments 61.0 1.04 6.0 0.78 2.89 335.7

6 Crushing and pressing fruits

segments with water (1:1 ratio) 157.8 1.00 4.0 0.47 2.88 221.4

7 Blanching, crushing and

pressing fruits segments 64.4 1.08 7.0 0.78 2.90 321.4

8 Blanching, crushing and

pressing fruits segments with

water (1:1 ratio)

167.6 1.00 4.0 0.55 2.86 207.1

9 Centrifugal juice extraction

from fruits segments 45.8 1.12 7.0 0.94 2.90 478.6

10 Centrifugal juice extraction

from fruits segments with

water (1:1 ratio)

140.0 1.01 4.0 0.43 2.84 185.7

11 Centrifugal juice extraction

from blanched fruits segments 47.8 1.20 7.5 0.94 2.90 417.8

12 Centrifugal juice extraction

from blanched fruits segments

with water (1:1 ratio)

150.0 1.01 3.5 0.39 2.82 178.6

Reference: Jain and Khurdiya (2002)

23

Blended juice

Various workers have explored the possibilities of utilizing aonla fruit for the

preparation of juice and beverages (Prasad et al., 1968; Singh and Kumar, 1995; Nath

1999; Deka et al., 2001). Although, aonla fruit juice and beverages prepared there from

have poor consumer acceptance yet, could be utilized for vitamin ‘C’ enrichment of other

fruit juice based beverages. These vitamin ‘C’ rich natural drinks if given due publicity

can replace synthetic drinks and overcome the vitamin ‘C’ deficiency in people world

over.

Deka et al. (2001) conducted different experiments to study the feasibility of

blending juices and pulp from lime, aonla, grapes, pineapple and mango in different

preparation for the manufacturing of a ready-to-drink fruit juice beverage. The highest

sensory scores were obtained with a formulation comprising of 95 per cent lime and 5 per

cent aonla juice. Process flow chart for preparation of aonla juice is shown in figure 4.

Jain and Khurdiya (2004) conducted an experiment to develop vitamin ‘C’ rich

RTS beverages prepared from apple, lime, pomegranate, Perlette and Pusa Navrang grape

juice fortified with aonla juice. For juice extraction, aonla fruits were blanched, seed

removed manually, and segments were fed to centrifugal juice extractor. The juice was

strained and pasteurized at 90oC for 1 minute, filled in sterilized glass bottles, crown

corked, and air cooled. Juice from other fruits was extracted using standard methods, and

pasteurized as aonla juice. The aonla juice was mixed with each of apple, lime,

pomegranate, Perlette, and Pusa Navrang grape juice in the ratio of 0:100, 10:90, 15:85,

20:80, 25:75, 80:70, and 50:50. All the 40 blends were then adjusted with requisite

proportion of water, sugar, and citric acid in order to contain 10 per cent juice, 10 per

cent TSS, and 0.22 per cent acidity except lime-aonla blend which had 5 per cent juice,

10 per cent TSS, and 0.22 per cent acidity. All the blends were pasteurized at 90oC for 1

minute before packing in sterilized glass bottles of 200 ml capacity. On the basis of

overall sensory quality and vitamin ‘C’ content, RTS beverage prepared by blending

aonla and Pusa Navrang grape juice in 20:80 ratio was found to be the best.

Therefore, if aonla juice is blended with other fruit juices for the preparation of

RTS beverages, it boosts their nutritional quality. These fruit juices in turn improve the

24

acceptability of aonla juice. These natural fruit drinks have great future in developing and

expanding the beverage industry in India and overseas.

Selection of aonla fruit

Washing

Shredding direct extraction of juice

Extraction of juice

Filter

Homogenization

Pasteurization

Filling in bottles

Sealing

Storage

Fig 4. Flow sheet for preparation of aonla juice

Ready-to-serve (RTS)

Various recipes have been standardized for RTS from aonla pulp/juice with or

without ginger and spices. However, simple RTS can be prepared by taking 10 per cent

pulp and 12 per cent total soluble solids with 0.3 per cent acidity. Juice is extracted

separately and sugar syrup of desired strength prepared separately by boiling sugar with

25

water and adding citric acid towards the end of boiling. Succumb can be removed from

the syrup. After cooling of syrup at room temperature, mix the syrup and juice,

homogenize, and fill in the bottles and crown corked the bottles. Then bottles are

pasteurized in boiling water for 20 minutes, air cooled and stored for use. Flow sheet for

preparation of ready-to-serve beverage is given in figure 5.

Extraction of juice

Prepare syrup solution (sugar + water + acid)

Cooling syrup up to room temperature

Mixing juice and syrup

Homogenization

Bottling

Crown corking

Pasteurization

Cooling

Storage

Fig. 5. Flow sheet for preparation of RTS

Squash

To prepare 15 litres of aonla squash, 3.75 kg pulp should be mix in sugar solution

to have a final product having 45.00 per cent juice/pulp, 50.00 per cent TSS, and 1.00 per

cent acidity (FPO specifications). The syrup can be prepared by dissolving 8.1 kg sugar

26

and 120 g citric acid in 4.5 litres of water. Dissolve the sugar and citric acid by heating

the solution. Cool the syrup and strain through a thin cloth. Add the juice and mix at

properly along with preservative (6 g KMS). Fill the squash in 1 liter bottles and close the

lid. Flow sheet for preparation of aonla squash is given in Figure 6.

Juice extraction

Prepare sugar syrup (sugar + water + acid)

Cooling of syrup at ambient temperature

Mixing juice with syrup solution

Addition of preservative (KMS)

Filling into clean sterilized bottles

Capping

Labeling

Storage

Fig. 6. Flow sheet for preparation of squash

Nectar

Nectar can be prepared by taking 10 per cent pulp and 12 per cent TSS with 0.3

per cent acidity and 350 ppm SO2. To prepare 10 litres of aonla nectar, one kg pulp

should be mixed in sugar solution. The syrup can be prepared by dissolving 1.2 kg sugar

and 20 g citric acid in 7.6 litres of water by slow heating. Remove the solution from

flame when sugar is properly dissolved and strain it properly. Add the pulp after cooling

the solution. Mix the preservative (1 g KMS) and homogenize it properly. Nectar is filled

27

in 200ml bottles and crown corked. The flow sheet for preparation of nectar is given in

Figure 7.

Aonla pulp

Prepare sugar syrup (sugar + water + acid)

Cooling of syrup at ambient temperature

Mixing pulp with syrup solution

Addition of preservative (KMS)

Homogenization

Filling into clean sterilized bottles

Capping

Labeling

Storage

Marketing

Fig. 7. Flow sheet for preparation of nectar

Syrup

Syrup from aonla pulp can be prepared according to FPO specifications i.e., 45

per cent pulp, 68 per cent TSS and 1.2 per cent acidity. The procedure for the preparation

of syrup is similar to that of squash.

28

Jam

Jam is a product made by boiling fruit pulp with sugar and citric acid to a

desirable thick consistency. The ideal fruit jam should have minimum 45 per cent pulp,

68 per cent total soluble solids and 0.5 per cent acidity. Best quality jam can be prepared

from the varieties which have low fiber content and more pulp percentage. To prepare

aonla jam, first pulp is extracted from the fruit. This pulp mixed with the desired quantity

of sugar and citric acid and this mixture is cooked to desired consistency. The end point

judged by hand refractometer (68o Brix) or by drop test or sheet test. The recipe contains

1 kg pulp, 1.25 kg sugar and 5 g citric acid. Flow sheet for preparation of jam is given in

Figure 8

Pulp

Mixing with sugar

Cooking

Addition of citric acid

Judging of end point (TSS 68oB) by hand refractometer / drop test / sheet test

Bottling

Capping

Labeling

Storage

Marketing

Fig. 8. Flow sheet for preparation of jam

29

Herbal Jam

Singh et al. (2005d) standardized the recipe for preparation of herbal jam. They

prepared the different recipes for preparation of 5 kg herbal jam (Table 10). Recipe No.-1

containing 50 per cent aonla pulp, 75 per cent asparagus + 2 per cent ashwagandha

extract with 68 per cent TSS and 1-2 per cent acidity was found the best and it was

closely followed by recipe No.2 which contained 10 per cent asparagus juice. Herbal

extracts added in aonla pulp for preparation of jam improved the medicinal quality and

attract the market. The procedure for preparation of herbal jam is exactly same as that of

simple jam given in Figure 8.

Table 10: Organoleptic quality of herbal jam prepared from different recipes

Organoleptic

quality Recipes

Aonla

pulp

(%)

Asparagus

juice (%)

Ashwagandha

extract (%)

Sugar

(%)

Acidity

(%) Score Rating

1 50 5 2 68 1.2 8.3 Liked very

much

2 50 10 2 68 1.2 8.1 Liked very

much

3 50 15 2 68 1.2 7.2 Liked

moderately

4 50 20 2 68 1.2 6.8 Liked

moderately

Reference: Singh et al. (2005).

Herbal squash

Singh et al. (2005d) standardized the recipe for preparation of herbal squash. Five

different recipes with or without asparagus juice and ginger juice were developed (Table

11). Asparagus and ginger juice were mixed with aonla pulp and the remaining procedure

was as such followed for simple squash given in Figure 6. A recipe containing 25 per

cent aonla pulp, 5 per cent asparagus extract and 2 per cent ginger juice with 50 per cent

TSS and 1.2 per cent acidity was found most ideal for preparation of herbal squash

30

Table 11: Organoleptie quality of herbal squash prepared from different recipes

Organoleptic quality Recipes

Aonla

pulp

(%)

Asparagus

juice (%)

Ginger

juice

(%)

TSS

(%)

Acidity

(%) Score Rating

1 25 - - 50 1.2 5.9 Liked slightly

2 25 - 2 50 1.2 8.0 Liked very

much

3 25 5.0 2 50 1.2 8.8 Liked

extremely

4 25 7.5 2 50 1.2 6.6 Liked slightly

5 25 10.0 2 50 1.2 5.8 Liked slightly

CD at 5% 0.6

Candy

The flow sheet for preparation of aonla candy is given in Figure 9.

Matured fruits

Washing with water

Pricking

Dipping in 2% salt solution (24 hours)

Washing with water

Blanching in boiling water

Steeping in 50% sugar syrup (24 hours)

Steeping in 60% sugar syrup (24 hours)

31

Steeping in 70% sugar syrup (24 hours)

Steeping in 75% sugar syrup (24 hours)

Drawing of excess sugar syrup

Coating with pectin or sugar

Shade drying up to 15% moisture

Packing in polyethylene pouches

Store in cool and dry place

Fig. 9. Flow sheet for preparation of aonla candy

A fruits impregnated with can sugar or glucose and subsequently drained and

dried is called a candied fruit. Aonla candies are becoming more and more popular

because of high acceptability, minimum volume, higher nutritional value and longer

storage life. These have additional advantages of being least thirst provoking and ready to

eat snacks.

Singh and Pathak (1987) reported that aonla fruit can be utilized for making

excellent quality of candy or intermediate moisture food (IMF). Pathak (1988) described

the technology for preparation of aonla candy. The recipe contained 1 kg aonla fruit, 1 kg

sugar and 1.5 kg water.

Tandon et al. (2003) studied the effect of blanching and lye peeling on candy

preparation. They found that the candy prepared from lye peeled fruits of aonla showed

decreased content of ascorbic acid than blanched fruits. The candy prepared from

Lakshmi-52, Kanchan and Chakaiya was found the best. However, the effect of the

blanching on some of nutritional parameters was less severe than that of lye peeling.

Singh et al. (2003) conducted a study to find out the techno-economic feasibility of

processing of aonla products of pulp based (jam, squash, sauce) and non pulp based

32

(candy ). They found that the per litre processing cost of squash and cost of 1 kg candy

was much lower than that the cost of 1 litre sauce and 1 kg jam.

Singh et al. (2005d) prepared aonla candy with four different recipe viz., whole

fruit with sugar coating, segmented fruit with sugar coating, whole fruit with pectin

coating, and segmented fruits with pectin coating. Candy prepared from segmented fruit

with pectin coating recorded the highest organoleptic score because of most attractive

colour and taste, followed by whole fruit candy with pectin coating. Pectin coating

improved the quality of candy, hence it has better consumer appeal. The candy prepared

from aonla fruit has bright scope for both internal and external market.

Preserve

Aonla fruits are normally used to make preserve. A preserve is made from fully

matured aonla fruits by cooking it whole or in the form of large pieces in heavy sugar

syrup, till it becomes tender and transparent. Improved method for preserve making

includes the washing and selected bold fruit are dipped in 2 per cent common salt

solution until the green fruit changes to a creemish colour, with replacement of the brine

solution on alternate days. The fruits are thoroughly washed, pricked with a stainless steel

pricker and then blanched in boiling water for 4 to 5 minutes. Sugar equal to the weight

of fruits is sprinkled over the fruit and kept overnight. The next day, boiling is given to

the whole mass and syrup is then drained out. The syrup is thoroughly boiled and

concentrated by adding more sugar to 55oB strength and mixed with fruit. The following

day the fruit are taken out and syrup is concentrated to 75oB by adding sugar and boiling.

Aonla fruit are added back and allowed to stand in syrup for couple of days. When the

TSS of the syrup stabilizes at around 70oB, the preserve is packed in clean, sterilized, dry

glass jars and stored at ambient room temperature away from direct sunlight. The flow

sheet for aonla preserve is given in Figure 10.

33

Fruits

Washing

Pricking by mechanical pricker

Washing with fresh water

Soaking in alum and lime

Washing with fresh water

Blanching (boiling water for 5 minutes)

Washing with fresh water

Steeping with syrup solution concentrating by adding and boiling (TSS 40, 50 and 60oB for 24 hours)

Steeping in TSS 70oB for a week

Packing

Labeling

Storage

Fig. 10. Flow sheet for preserve making

Central Institute for Arid Horticulture (CIAH) developed a new modified protocol

for preparation of murabba (Anonymons, 2003). Fully matured uniform big size fruits of

NA-7, were harvested, selected and cleaned. The fruits were pricked and kept in 2 per

cent salt solution for 24 h, again the fruits were washed and subjected to 2 per cent alum

solution for 24 h, the fruits were washed thoroughly, sugar syrup were prepared

34

separately. The fruit are boiled for three minutes and allowed to boil in the syrup solution

for another 5 to 6 minutes. In this method when the fruits are boiled along with sugar

syrup, the moisture inside were replaced by sugar. The fruits are packed in a container

kept for three days, the syrup solution were heated to remove excess moisture drained

from fruits. The murabba are packed in container and stored for 8 to 9 months. The

advantage over other methods is to repeat change of concentration daily could be

avoided.

Segments in syrup

The fruits are blanched in boiling water for 6-8 minutes and segments are

separated. The segments are dipped for 24 h each in increasing concentration of syrup of

50, 60 and 70oB by adding sugar with boiling and segments are immersed in it and

packed in clean jars.

Churan

Tandon et al. (2005) standardized the procedure and recipe for preparation of

churan from dried aonla powder. The aonla fruits were blanched in boiling water for 6-8

minutes. The segments were separated out into 3-4 pieces and dried in electric dehydrator

at 60oC for 6-7 h. The retention of vitamin ‘C’ content after blanching and subsequent

drying was found to be 78 and 49 per cent, respectively. The pieces were then ground to

powder form and various ingredients mixed. Among fourteen combinations of

ingredients tried for churan, two combinations, having 1-5 g ginger and 0.5 g ajwain and

1.0 g ginger and 2.5 g mint apart from other ingredients (100 g aonla powder, 8 g salt, 16

g black salt, 15 g sugar, 3 g citric acid, 2 g black pepper, 1g asafoetida, 1 g tannin and 1

g fennel), were found to be most acceptable. The flow sheet for preparation of churan is

given in Figure 11.

Matured aonla fruits

Blanching in boiling water for 6 – 8 minutes

Separation of segments

35

Electrical dehydration at 60oC for 6 to 7 hours

Powdering

Mixing ingradients

Packaging

Fig. 11. Flow sheet for manufacturing churan

Since in this process, the retention of vitamin ‘C’ is hardly 50 per cent. Therefore,

alternately a ecofriendly option through integration of solar tunnel drying can be

employed, which can be designed as per requirement and produces high retention

capacity as far as vitamin ‘C’ is concerned in final products. The flow sheet for

preparation of churan through this method is given as follow in Figure 12.

Aonla fruits

Shreadding through machine Seeds removed

Shreads spreading in solar dryer

Dried products

Grinding into powder

Mixing ingradients

Packaging in polythene

Storage / marketing Fig. 12. Flow sheet for manufacturing aonla churan

Sauce

Recipe: Pulp 1 kg, sugar 75 g, salt 10 g, onion 50 g, garlic 5 g, ginger 10 g, red

chilli powder 5 g, hot spices 10 g, acetic acid 2 ml and sodium benzoate 0.25 g.

36

Technique: The flow sheet for preparation of aonla sauce is given in Figure 13.

Pulp

Mix with 25g sugar

Heating

Add extract of onion, garlic, ginger, chillies and hot spices

Cooking

Add glacial acetic acid and remaining sugar

Heating

Testing of end point for desired consistency

Add salt and sodium benzoate

Bottling

Crow corking

Processing in boiling water for about 20 minutes

Cooling & Labelling

Storing / marketing

Fig. 13. Flow sheet for preparation of sauce

37

Chutney

Recipe and technique used: Recipe containing aonla pulp 1 kg, cumin10 g,

turmeric powder 3 g, ginger 10 g, black pepper 2 g, sugar 1 kg, fenugreek 100 g, salt 50

g, red chilli powder 2 g, garlic 10 g, mustard 1 g and vinegar 40 ml. The flow sheet for

preparation of chutney is given in Figure 14.

Fruits

Steam for 15 minutes in pressure cooker

Pass through mixi

Fine pulp

Mix with ingredients

Cook the mixture to a desired consistency

Add glacial acetic acid

Filling into glass bottles

Cooling

Storage

Fig. 14. Flow sheet for preparation of chutney

Chavanprash

Chavanprash is a health tonic mentioned in Indian system of medicine i.e.,

Ayurveda. It is prepared by mixing the aonla pulp pest and sugar while cooking. In this

38

mixture spices and medicinal plants extracts are added for further cooking. Recipe

contains the following items

Aonla 1 kg Dasmul 4g

Sugar 1.5 kg Bala 5g

Black pepper 10 g Jeevanti 5 g

Javitri 10 g Pushakarmul 5 g

Jayphal 10 g Bayaskashta 5 g

Colve 10 g Haritaki 5 g

Small cardamom 10 g Guruchi 5 g

Large cardamom 10 g Nilkamal 5 g

Dried ginger 10 g Ashwagandha 10 g

Small pipali 10 g Satavari 10 g

Caveman 10 g Butter (Ghee) 20 g

Muktasukti pishti 1 g Linseed oil 10 g

Banslochan 10 g Abharak bhasm 1 g

Shreads and Drying

Pragati et al. (2003) conducted an experiment on effect of drying methods on

nutritional composition of dehydrated aonla fruit during storage. Aonla fruit cv. Chakaiya

was dried using four different methods viz., osmo-air drying, direct sun drying, indirect

solar drying and oven drying. The osmo-air drying method was found to be the best

method for drying of aonla because of better retention of nutrients like ascorbic acid and

sugars. The level of antineutrients like tannins was also found to be lower in osmo-air

dried aonla compared to other methods of drying because of leaching. Browning of the

dehydrated fruits was also minimal in the case of osmo-air dried fruits. The nutrient

content in osmo-air dried aonla was satisfactory after 90 days of storage.

The raw and KMS treated samples of Banarasi and Chakaiya varieties were

dehydrated by sun and mechanically dried (60oC) for the preparation of aonla powder

(Sharma et al., 2002). The processed dehydrated powder was packed in 100 gauge

packages of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE).

The packages were stored under ambient (5-18oC and 60% RH) and refrigerated (4 + 1oC

39

and 90% RH) conditions. It was found that the aonla powder prepared from pretreated

Chakaiya variety and mechanically dried can be stored effectively in HDPE packages

under refrigerated condition for 3 months without much loss in vitamin ‘C’, having better

overall acceptability in terms of appearance, taste, flavour and texture.

Processes for dehydrated aonla powder have been standardized by Alam and

Singh (2005). The pricked aonla fruits were blanched for 5 minutes in 5 per cent boiling

salt solution containing 0.15 per cent NaHCO3 and 0.10 per cent MgO. The blanched

aonla fruits were sulphited for 30 minutes in 0.5 per cent KMS. The treated fruits were

sliced manually with knife. For the dehydration of aonla slices, the mechanical dryer (50,

60 and 70oC), solar and cabinet dryers were used. They found that the mechanically dried

slices contained higher in vitamin ‘C’ content and were organoleptically superior to slices

dried under solar and cabinet dryer

Kavitha et al. (2003) studied the effect of osmotic dehydration on vitamin ‘C’

content of aonla at different salt concentrations and different temperatures. The over all

retentions of vitamin ‘C’ was found better in the un-blanched osmotically dehydrated and

air dried samples. Drying study of aonla was also conducted by Singh et al. (2006) in a

batch type pilot scale solar tunnel dryer (80-85 kg wet product batch) with open sun

drying as control. The collector area of the dryer was 25 m2. The dryer is 2.0 m wide,

with a 4.5 m solar air heater and a drying tunnel of 8.0 m. The heater and dryer are

covered with UV stabilized polyethylene film. Solar photo-voltaic (SPV) operated axial

flow fans have been provided at one end to put fresh air to the dryer. The air flow through

the tunnel was around 300-600 m3 h-1. Sixty five kg de-seeded blanched aonla pieces

were uniformly spread over the drying trays @ 4.75 kg m-2. Initial moisture content of

aonla was around 85 per cent. Aonla pieces were dried in the tunnel in five and half days

as compare to ten days in open sun drying in the month of October. Average drying

temperature in the tunnel and in open was 54.3oc and 36.5oC. The average solar

insulation during drying days was 600 Wm2. Moisture content of aonla dried in the tunnel

dryer and in open sun were 3.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively. The quality of the

solar tunnel dried aonla was found to be superior in terms of lower bacterial count, better

appearance and acceptability.

40

LITERATURE CITED

Alam, S. and Singh, A. 2005. Process for dehydration aonla powder. Abstract presented

in Convention of Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers, 39: 222.

Anand, J.C. 1970. Effect of pretreatments on the loss of tannins and vitamin C in aonla

and aonla preserves. Indian Food Packer, 36: 38-43.

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