Production of Osmotic Dehydrated Nipa Palm

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to 1) study the physical characteristics, proximate composition and chemical properties of fresh nipa endosperm from Phra Samut Chedi district, Samut Prakarn province 2) study the appropriate ratio between the nipa endosperm and sucrose solution for production of osmotic dehydrated nipa endosperm and 3) study of physical and sensory properties of osmo-dried nipa endosperm. The average weight of halved fresh nipa endosperm was 11.77±2.61 g and the length, width and thickness were 41.77±2.57 mm, 27.41±1.03 mm and 12.35±1.14 mm, respectively. The results showed that the fresh nipa endosperm contained 6°Brix TSS, 0.97±0.01 water activity (aw). The proximate composition indicated the moisture, crude protein, total fat, carbohydrate, ash and dietary fiber percentage (%) were 88.82±0.01, 0.92±0.04, 0.02±0.00, 9.47±0.03, 0.78±0.01 and 4.33±0.01, respectively. A study of different ratio between nipa endosperm and sucrose solution were 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 1:4. The result indicated that high ratio caused the increase of water loss and sugar gain in the product. L* and b*were slightly decreased, while a* was slightly increased after drying at 60ºC for 6 hr. However, the appropriate condition for osmosis was at 1:3 which had the highest overall acceptable sensory score as evaluated by 100 consumers (p≤0.05).