Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Abstract

Proximate Analysis of Garlic (Allium sativum) Paste Treated with Ascorbic and Citric Acids

Mutasim ZA and Elgasim AE

The prime objective of the study was to develop a preservation method for garlic paste that could prevent adverse quality changes, render the paste more shelf stable and possibly retain chemical characteristics of fresh garlic. Three separate batches of fresh garlic bulbs of two Sudanese varieties (Dongla and Berber) harvested in December 2011 were collected, peeled manually, separated into individual sound cloves, divided into 5 equal portions and crushed in a blender until a smooth puree was obtained. Before crushing, portions were assigned randomly to chemical treatments (T0 = no chemical additives (control); T1 = 0.5 mg/g Ascorbic acid; T2 = 2 mg/g Citric acid; T3 = 0.25 mg/g Ascorbic acid + 1 mg/g Citric acid and T4 = 0.5 mg/g Ascorbic acid + 2 mg/g Citric acid). The chemical additives (T0-T4) were added during bulb crushing. Each garlic treated portion was subdivided into 2 equal portions, packed in glass containers and hermetically closed, stored at 25°C or 40°C for 6 months and analyzed at an interval of 2 months. Proximate compositions were measured. The results indicated that storage temperature had a significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on the chemical composition except the fat content. Storage at high temperature (40°C) elevated the chemical composition of the garlic paste except the ash content. Irrespective of variety, storage for 6 months elevated moisture, fat, fiber, and ash contents. Sensory evaluation was measured. The results indicated that garlic variety (Dongola and Berber) had a significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on sensory evaluation of garlic paste. Storage at low temperature (25°C) elevated the sensory evaluation of garlic paste. Irrespective of variety, storage for 4 months elevated sensory evaluation except color. Organic acids (Ascorbic and citric acids) or their blends are recommended to produce a shelf stable garlic paste for up to 6 months at storage temperature of 25°C or less.