EFFECT OF TUBER AGE AND SIZE ON THE ORGANOLEPTIC QUALITIES OF PICKLE AND CANDY FROM SWALLOW ROOT (DECALEPIS HAMILTONII WIGHT & ARN)

An experiment was conducted to determine the optimal maturity stage and tuber size of swallow root (Decalepis hamiltonii) for the preparation of value-added products such as pickles and candies.Four treatment combinations were evaluated viz.T 1 -three-year-old large size tuberous roots (>3 cm diameter), T 2three-year-old small size tuberous roots (<3 cm diameter), T 3 -two-year-old large size tuberous roots (>3 cm diameter) and T 4 -two-year-old small size tuberous roots (<3 cm diameter).These tuberous roots were processed into pickles and candies and the resulting products were assessed for organoleptic qualities.Pickles prepared from T 4 -two-year-old, small size tuberous roots (<3 cm diameter) received the highest sensory scores for appearance (8.0), colour (8.1), aroma (7.6), texture (7.5), taste (7.5), overall acceptability (7.8) and a total score of 53.4.Conversely, candies made from T 1 -three-year-old, large sized tuberous roots (>3 cm diameter) obtained superior scores for aroma (7.6), texture (8.4), taste (7.6), after taste (7.6), overall acceptability (7.6) and a total score of 53.6.These findings indicate that two-year-old, small size tuberous roots (<3 cm diameter) are most suitable for pickle preparation, while three-year-old, large size tuberous roots (>3 cm diameter) are preferable for candy formulation.