Effects of different texture enhancers on the quality and sensory acceptability of roselle pickles

Abstract

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdari.ffa L) is a species of Hibiscus used for the production of roselle pickles with combination of four types of food grade texture enhancers ( calcium lactate, calcium phosphate, calcium chloride and calcium propionate). Each types of calcium used has different characteristics towards the texture of roselle pickles. This study was conducted to investigate the sensory acceptability, microbiological quality, nutritional content and physicochemical characteristics of roselle pickles using four different types of calcium. The preliminary studies were carried out at three different concentrations (0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5%) using four types of calcium. The best concentration for calcium lactate and phosphate was 1.0% while for calcium chloride and calcium propionate was 0.5%. Calcium chloride showed the crunchiest texture followed by calcium phosphate, calcium lactate and the least crunchiest was calcium propionate. For sensory acceptance, calcium chloride had received the highest score for most of sensory attributes followed by calcium lactate, calcium phosphate and calcium propionate. For microbiological analyses, there was significant differences (p <0.05) of Aerobic Plate Count (APC) between samples.