CHARACTERIZATION OF PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND SENSORY PROPERTIES OF CITRUS SAUCE AS A VALUE ADDED PRODUCT

This study was performed during the year 2024 to evaluate the potential of locally available citrus varieties namely kinnow and musambi for the preparation of sauce as a value added product. Treatments were designed by blending pulp in different ratios. Firstly, physical attributes (fruit size, fruit weight, No. of seeds and peel thickness) of citrus cultivars were studied. Physicochemical analysis (pH, TSS, %Acidity and vitamin C content) and sensory parameters (color, taste, flavor and overall acceptability) of citrus sauce were analyzed during 90 days storage study. The research experiment was conducted under completely randomized design and data was statistically analyzed. The results showed decreasing trend in pH values and ascorbic acid content of citrus sauce samples from 3.88-3.65 and 48.41-24.54mg/100ml respectively during storage. Acidity was found to increase from 1.18-1.27% whereas TSS from 25.87-26.47°Brix during storage. Sensory attributes of citrus sauce were evaluated by trained panelists at Food Technology Section, Post-Harvest Research Centre, Faisalabad. All treatments showed acceptable scores but T5 i.e. sauce prepared with 50:50 blend of kinnow and musambi pulp showed best sensory attributes followed by T3 (70:30) throughout storage.