Reducing and Total Sugar Content in Onion During Storage in the Republic of Macedonia

Abstract

In Macedonia, sweet onion landrace ‘buchinska arshlama’ is traditionally stored during winter period from October until April. The objective of this research was to determine the content of reducing sugar and total sugar in onion bulbs during storage period in a traditional way and in cold rooms. Every month, samples were taken for chemical analysis. The results were statistically processed and tested with t-test. The average reducing sugar content in onion stored in a traditional way was 4.8%, while the average reducing sugar content in onion stored in cold rooms was 4.6%. The average total sugar content in onion stored in a traditional way was 6.0%, while the average total sugar content in onion stored in a cold room was 5.6%. These results showed that onion `buchinska arshlama` can be successfully stored in a traditional way until the beginning of February or longer in cold rooms.