Essay on the Processing of Fruits and Vegetables!
Fruits and vegetables can be processed into following various products:- 1. Lime/ Lemon Syrup 2. Mango Squash 3. Malta/Orange/Kinnow Squash 4. Lime and Barley Syrup 5. Tomato Juice 6. Lime/Lemon Pickle 7. Mango Pickle 8. Amla Pickle 9. Carrot Pickle 10. Lime, Green Chili and Ginger Pickle 11. Tomato Ketchup 12. Amla Preserve 13. Dehydrated Fruits and Vegetables
1. Lime/ Lemon Syrup:
Squeeze the lime to take out juice either with hand or by a juice extractor. In 1 litre of water add 2 kg of sugar and dissolve it. Heat it slightly to dissolve sugar into water. After cooling the sugar syrup add 1 litre lime juice, 4gm essence and 3.5gm of potassium metabisulphate. Fill the lime syrup into the bottles. Dissolve it in cold water before serving.
2. Mango Squash:
Well ripped mangoes should be selected for the preparation of pulp. After washing, pulp is prepared either by manually squeezing with hands or with fruit pulper. Pulp is further used for making squash. Syrup is prepared by mixing and heating 1.4kg sugar, 25-30gm citric acid and 0.6 litre water. The mixture is filtered through muslin cloth.
1 kg prepared pulp is added to the sugar syrup after cooling. Potassium metabisulphite 2.8gm is added in the squash after dissolving in small amount of squash and then mixing in bigger lot. Pack the mango squash into the bottles. Dissolve 1 part of squash into 3 to 4 parts of cold water before drinking.
3. Malta/Orange/Kinnow Squash:
After peeling, juice is extracted from the fruit by using screw type juice extractor or squeezer. Juice is further used for making squash. Syrup is prepared by mixing and heating 2 kg sugar, 25-30gm citric acid and 1 kg water. The mixture is filtered through muslin cloth. Juice is added to the sugar syrup after cooling.
Potassium metabisulphite 2.8 gm is added in the squash after dissolving in small amount of squash and then mixing in bigger lot. Squash is filled into 650 ml capacity bottles and crown corked or squash can be filled in plastic bottles which can be capped airtight. The bottles are shelf stable up to one year at ambient room temperature. At the time of serving it is diluted four times with cold water.
4. Lime and Barley Syrup:
To make lime and barley syrup, in 150 gm of barley flour 300 ml water is added and it is heated slightly to gelatinize the starch. Squeeze the lime to take out juice either with hand or by a juice extractor. In one liter of water add 1.7 kg of sugar and dissolve it.
Heat it slightly to dissolve sugar into water. After cooling the sugar syrup add one liter lime juice and 3.5gm of potassium Metabisulphate along with gelatinized barley batter. Fill the syrup into the bottles. Dissolve it in cold water before serving.
5. Tomato Juice:
Take well ripped red tomatoes. Boil the tomatoes to take out the juice. Boil the juice by adding 4% sugar, 0.6 % salt, 0.1 % citric acid and 0.02% sodium benzoate and fill it into clean, heat resistant bottles and crown cork to make it airtight. Boil the bottles for 20 minutes in the boiling water.
Cool the bottles slowly under running water without falling water directly on the bottles. Juice will remain shelf stable for 1 year at room temperature. Juice can be used for drinking as well as for adding in vegetable curries.
6. Lime/Lemon Pickle:
After washing, slice the lime/lemon into pieces. To one kg of lime/lemon pieces add 200gm of salt, 7 gm dried powder of cumin, 2 gm cloves and 20 gm carom seeds. Keep it in sun for 2-3 weeks. It will be ready for serving.
7. Mango Pickle:
After washing, cut the unripe mangoes into pieces. Add 200gm salt, 25gm fenugreek seeds, 20gm onion seeds, 20gm red chilies, 40gm fennel seeds, 25gm turmeric powder and mix it properly with mango pieces. Add 200ml of mustard oil into the pickle. Keep the pickle for 2-3 weeks in sun. Shake it properly till it is prepared.
8. Amla Pickle:
Take 1kg of amla and dip it in 2% salt water overnight. Next day, after cutting amla cook it in 100ml mustard oil for 5 minutes. After this, add 100 gm salt and 50 gm turmeric powder and cook for 5 minutes. Cool it.
9. Carrot Pickle:
After washing and peeling of carrots, cut it into pieces, dry it in sun for 2 hours. Put one kg of carrots in 250ml hot mustard oil. Add 100gm salt and 20gm red chili. After cooling, add 200gm crushed mustard seeds. Pack pickle in clean jars.
10. Lime, Green Chili and Ginger Pickle:
Wash lime, green chili and ginger. Cut 750gm of lime. Peel 300gm of ginger and cut it into slices. Give a slight slit into 200gm of green chilies. Add 250gm of salt in lime, green chili and ginger mixture. Squeeze 250gm of lemon and put the juice along with lemon into the pickle and mix it. Pack it in wide mouth jars.
11. Tomato Ketchup:
Cut ripe tomatoes into slices and boil. Take out the juice of boiled tomatoes. In 1kg of tomato juice add a bundle of muslin cloth containing 15gm of onion pieces, 2-3 gm garlic pieces, 4-4gm cloves, 2-3 gm black pepper, 2 gm cardamom, 1 -2 gm cumin seeds, 1 -2gm cinnamon, 1 -2 gm red chili and heat it till gets thickened.
Add 100gm sugar 12-15gm salt. Once material remains half add 40ml vinegar into it. Take out bundle of muslin cloth from the ketchup and squeeze it in the ketchup. Heat it 1-2 minutes and add 700mg/ kg of sodium benzoate into the final product.
12. Amla Preserve:
Take banarasi variety of amla for making preserve. Put amla into 2% of salt solution for one night. Keep changing salt solution of dipped amla for 3 to 4 days. After washing amla, prick it with fork. Boil amla into 1 liter of water containing 2gm of tartaric acid for 2-3 minutes. Wash and put in sugar syrup containing 700gm of sugar in 500ml of water. Next day, add 250gm sugar into the syrup and boil syrup without fruit.
Add amla into it. Next day, add remaining 200gm of sugar into the syrup and boil it till the syrup gets little thick without the fruit. Then add fruit into the syrup and boil once again. Boil the syrup again next day if it gets diluted and make it thick. Keep watching the syrup every day for 15 days; if there is any kind of dilution further heat it again for making the syrup thick.
13. Dehydrated Fruits and Vegetables:
To keep the food products for longer time, dehydration is the best method. The process of dehydration involves removal of water from the food under controlled conditions.
Food may be dehydrated to decrease weight and bulk. Various dehydrated products i.e. potato chips, potato powder, green leafy vegetables, tomato halves and powder, mushroom powder have been prepared by several basic drying methods i.e. cabinet drier, fluidized bed drier, spray driers, freeze dehydration, solar and sun drying depending upon the type of food to be dried and the quality level that must be achieved and the cost that can be justified. In these products removal of all water leaves one-eighth the weight. These reductions can result in lower transportation and container cost.
Processing and value addition in fruits and vegetables has become the need of hour. Food processing not only help to avoid post-harvest losses of horticultural produce but also help farmers to get remunerative prices for their produce and generate employment for their youth, thereby boosting the rural economy.