19-08-2014, 11:45 AM
First trials were taken to optimize the process condition for retorting of mixed vegetable curry with varying pH and subjected to different F0 values. The product was evaluated for a period of 9 months.
Due to industrialization, urbanization and increasing number of working women, the convenience food market in India has witnessed a rapid growth in recent times. Therefore various kinds of quick cooking, ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook convenience products that do not require any elaborate kitchen drudgery are gaining importance. Ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat products offer a wide range of Indian as well as foreign meals (vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian) that require little or no preparation. These are thermally processed and properly packaged in retort pouch, which are basically flexible laminated pouches in order to economize on tin plate and also to reduce weight. The advantages of retort pouches includes much reduced time-temperature input due to much higher surface-to-volume ratio which facilitates rapid heat transfer from the pressure vessel into the package interior, thus achieving higher initial quality. Lighter-weight packaging and easier opening are also added advantages.
First trials were taken to optimize the process condition for retorting of mixed vegetable curry with varying pH and subjected to different F0 values. The product was evaluated for a period of 9 months.
F0 values of 6.0 and 7.0 min were found to be optimum for curries with pH 4.5 and 5.5, respectively.
Retorting of blanched shrimp in varying concentrations of citric acid and brine solution were studied.
The optimized products were further subjected to different F0 values to standardize the retorting conditions. From the results it was concluded that processing at F0 of 9.0 min is sufficient. Similar study was carried out for chicken curry and it was found out that a F0 value of 12 min is required to yield a microbially safe product. The products were evaluated at regular intervals for a period of six months and were studied for their appearance, consistency, odor, pH, acidity, texture and microbiological status.
Nutrient degradation of retorted tomato curry base after processing and during storage period of six months was studied. It was observed that no major change in proximate composition and lycopene content occurs. Ascorbic acid content reduces drastically during processing and decreases gradually during the storage.
Processing conditions for paneer cubes in dipping medium having different pH and varying the F0 values were studied. From the microbial and textural results it was concluded that F0 value of 8.5 min was optimum for extending the shelf life of paneer cubes.