Exercise

Practical 24 - Preserve and Candies

Aim: To conduct practical on preparation of preserve and candies from fruits.

Theory: Preserves (murraba) are made by cooking the entire fruit or its slices/pieces in sugar syrup of higher concentration (65-700Brix). Usually for 1 kg fruit around 1.75 kg sugar is used and the cooking is continued till the TSS reaches 68%. Fruits like aonla, bael, apple, pear, karonda, pineapple and papaya etc can be used for making preserves. Aonla, bael and apple preserves are commercially available in the market.
Candies are also prepared similarly to preserve but the TSS maintained is slightly higher (75-80%). In preserve, the fruit is kept immersed in syrup and packed while in candies, the syrup is drained off and fruit pieces are further dried and packed. For candy preparation, the fruit pieces are dipped initially in 55-60% sugar solution and the TSS of the syrup is increased by 5% everyday up to 4-5 days till a TSS of 70oBrix is reached. The fruit pieces are then separated from syrup, rolled in powdered sugar, dried and packed. Karonda, apple, peels of orange, lemon, grapefruit, petha (Ash gourd) and ginger etc are used for candy preparation. Petha, ginger, papaya, aonla etc candies are commercially available in the market.

Procedure for preserve and candy making (Follow flowsheet in Figure 24.1 for preparation of preserve and candy)

1. Select healthy, mature fruits and wash in running water to remove dirt and residues.
2. Peel, core and cut the fruits into pieces.
3. Pricking should be done with stainless steel forks. In case of petha, after pricking place them in lime water. (If slices are substantially thin, pricking may not be necessary).
4. Prepare fruits for preserve and candy making by following steps as shown in Table 24.1.

Table 24.1: Preparation of fruits for making preserve or candy.

Fruit

Step-1

Step-2

Step-3

Step-4

Aonla

Wash and prick the fruits with stainless steel fork (avoid using iron needle)

Steep in 2% salt solution for 24 hours to remove astringency

Wash and dip in 2% alum solution for 24 hours and wash

Blanch until soft but segments should remain attached

Apple/

pear

Peel, prick with fork (remove core). keep peeled fruits submersed in 2% salt solution to check browning

Steep in 2% salt solution for 24 hours to prevent browning

Wash and dip in 2% alum solution or 24 hrs and wash

Blanch in boiling water containing KMS to bleach

Bael

Remove shell, slice peeled fruit crosswise into 2.5 cm thick pieces, wash & prick

Steep in cold water for 24 hours

-

Blanch in boiling water

Mango

Peel and remove green portion, cut fruit lengthwise

-

-

Blanch until soft and then prick the pieces or use thin slices

Karonda

Cut into two pieces and remove seeds

Steep in 2% salt solution for 24 hours, wash and prick with fork

-

Blanch in boiling water containing 0.25% citric acid to soften

Papaya

Peel, cut into rectangular pieces, remove seed & prick

Steep in 2% salt solution for 24 hours

Wash thoroughly

Blanch in boiling water until soft

Petha/ (ashgourd)

Cut lengthwise, remove fluffy portion, peel, cut into pieces of suitable size & prick

Soak in diluted lime water for 24 hours to harden texture

Wash and soak in 2% alum solution for 24 hours

Blanch until tender, in boiling water containing little KMS.

Ginger

Scrape off peel with peeler from tender ginger, cut into thin slices

-

-

Boil for an hour with 0.5% citric acid, prick and wash

Citrus peel

Remove the rags from thick rind of orange, citron, pummelo, lime, lemon peel

Dip in 2% hot sodium bicarbonate solution for 30 minutes then wash and prick

-

Blanch in boiling water until tender and to remove bitterness


5. Blanch the fruits and place in alternate layers of fruit and sugar.
6. Fruits can be dipped directly into syrup without blanching.
7. The sugar spreaded in the layers on fruits starts to dissolve in juice which comes out of the fruits.
8. In case of syrup, the strength of the syrup is increased by 5% on each alternate day up to the TSS of 700B and 750B respectively for preserve and candy respectively.
9. When the fruit pieces of prepared preserve settle at the bottom of the syrup, it indicates the end point.

In case of candy, the process is similar to preserve making except the concentration of sugar is increased till it attains 750B TSS.
  • The syrup is then drained off and the pieces of fruits are dried in the drier.
  • The prepared candy after draining from the syrup can be rolled in powdered sugar and then dried.
  • Pack the pieces in pouches or airtight containers/glass jars.
Alternate method for preserve making
  1. Cook the fruit pieces in syrup of low sugar contents and gently heat the mass to boil.
  2. Continue boiling till the syrup thickens to 680B.
  3. Cool the preserve after boiling.
  4. Fill hot into clean and pre-sterilized bottles by using freshly prepared sugar syrup.
  5. Seal the bottles and store in a cool and dry place.

24.1


Figure 24.1: Flow sheet for preparation of preserve and candy

FPO specifications for preserve and candies


Fruit contents 

Not less than 45%

Total soluble solids

Not less than 68% (w/w) for preserve and not less than 75% in candies

Synthetic sweetening agents

Not permitted

Fermentation test

Negative

Organoleptic test

Retain flavour of original fruit and free from burnt or other objectionable flavour

Crystallization

Absent

Last modified: Friday, 9 March 2012, 5:49 AM