DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CINNAMON INFUSED CAULIFLOWER SNACK

Study was conducted at Post Harvest Research Centre, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, AARI, Faisalabad, during the year 2025-2026. Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea) is widely cultivated across Pakistan for commercial purpose. During peak harvest seasons when market prices drop, post-harvest losses cause significant economic loss of farmers. The development of value added products from cauliflower is a practical strategy for reducing these post harvest losses. In current study dehydrated cauliflower snack was infused with cinnamon extract to developed a shelf-stable value added product. Cauliflower florets were blanched and were pre-dipped before immersion in sugar syrup containing cinnamon extract at different concentrations of 5, 10, and 15% (v/v), i.e. total of 4 treatments (with 3 replication) Florets were osmotically treated for 24 hours and then dehydrated at 55°C. The prepared snacks were stored in air tight jars in cool-dry conditions. Physicochemical analysis i.e. firmness, moisture content, pH, titratable acidity and color (L*, a*, b*) were evaluated at 0, 30, 60 and 90 days of storage. Results showed that the treatment with 15% cinnamon extract was effective in retaining product quality characteristics. At day 90 highest firmness value in T (6.76±0.6 kg) and lowest firmness value was found in T3 (5.12±0.12 kg). At day 90 the highest moisture content was in T0 (14.4±0.04%) while the lowest was found in T3 (14.15±0.18%). The findings concluded that cinnamon extract can served as a functional flavoring agent and a natural preservative in the development of dehydrated snacks.