Formulation and Quality Assessment of Value-added Karonda (Carissa congesta Linn) Squash

Karonda fruits are abundant in ascorbic acid, pectin, citric acid, calcium and phosphorous, making them a highly nutritious choice. When ripe, these fruits have a delightful sub-acidic sweetness and a distinct aroma. They can be enjoyed as a dessert on their own or used to create delectable value-added products like jelly, sauce, Carissa cream, or jellied salad. For those seeking refreshing beverages, nectar, squash and syrup can be prepared from the ripe karonda fruits. To enhance the beverage's taste and health benefits, nine treatments were devised, incorporating sugar and herbs such as Cardamom and Clove. Different levels of Cardamom and Clove were added as herbal additives and compared to a control group. To ensure quality, the prepared beverages were stored in 250 ml transparent pre-sterilized glass bottles and subjected to a heat treatment at 96°C for 20 minutes. The treated Squash samples were evaluated immediately after preparation and at 60, 120 days and up to 4 months of storage for physiochemical analysis and sensory evaluation. The herbal treatments outperformed the control regarding Total Soluble Solids (TSS), Acidity, ascorbic acid and Iron content. Particularly, treatment T5 (40% TSS + 30% Juice + 2.0% Cardamom extract) exhibited the highest mean TSS (40.13%), Ascorbic acid content (4.23%) and Iron (0.928mg/100g). Additionally, the sensory evaluation, which considered Color, Texture, Flavor and Taste, yielded the highest score of 8.42 in T5 (40% TSS + 30% Juice + 2.0% Cardamom extract).