Abstract
Consuming of foods high in calories is often associated with higher risks for obesity. This has increased the consumer demand for the food products that promise health benefits. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proximate composition, physicochemical properties, and sensory attributes of reduced-calorie belimbi fruit jam with maltitol. Two formulations of belimbi fruit jams were prepared using sucrose as a reference food (i.e. BJSUC) or maltitol (i.e. BJMAL). The proximate composition, biochemical analysis, texture profile analysis, and sensory evaluation of the produced fruit jams were conducted. The obtained results of BJSUC and BJMAL were compared using unpaired Student’s ttest. The moisture content of BJMAL (76.58%) was significantly (P<0.05) higher than the BJSUC (66.41%). There was a reduction in carbohydrate and caloric values for belimbi fruit jam prepared using maltitol (22.19% and 96.43 kcal, respectively) as compared with belimbi fruit jam prepared using sucrose (32.91% and 136.09 kcal, respectively). However, belimbi fruit jam prepared without sucrose (i.e. BJMAL) did not affect to the ash (0.27%), crude protein (0.39%), crude fat (0.55%), and crude fiber (1.95%) contents, as well as for pH value (3.05), water activity (0.80), and vitamin C (22.90 mg/100 g) contents. BJMAL showed a significant (P<0.05) lower total soluble solids (66°Brix) and total titratable acid (0.09%) than BJSUC. BJMAL had lower firmness value and easy to spread than the BJSUC. The overall acceptability of BJMAL by panellists was comparable to the BJSUC, both fruit jams received scores higher than 5. The reducedcalorie belimbi fruit jam can be prepared by using maltitol.
Highlights
IntroductionBelimbi (Averrhoa belimbi) is one of the tropical fruits belongs to genus Averrhoa
Maltitol belongs to the group of well soluble polyols has crystallized similar to sucrose
The investigated belimbi fruit jam prepared from maltitol (BJMAL) meet the requirement of Food Act (Act 281) and Regulation Malaysia for labelling as ‘jam’ product as well as ‘reduced-calorie jam’
Summary
Belimbi (Averrhoa belimbi) is one of the tropical fruits belongs to genus Averrhoa. It is originated from Malaysia and Indonesia. Belimbi fruit has received very low attention as compared with other local fruits, like pineapple, papaya, and guava because of its high concentration of oxalic acid (8.5710.32 mg/g) which is regarded as too sour for eating raw. The high levels of oxalic acid found in belimbi fruit are responsible for its extremely low pH value (pH2.052.27) at their maturity stage (Lima et al, 2001; Bhaskar and Shantaram, 2013). The fresh belimbi fruit was recorded to contain a high amount of crude fibre, minerals, vitamin C, antioxidants, and low in fat (Bhaskar and Shantaram, 2013). Belimbi fruit has a high potential to be utilized and processed as a health food product for better options in preserving the fruit
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