Contents- Volume 7 Issue 1 June 2017

The wine has a rich history of preparation and consumption dating back thousands of years, with its earliest traces so far discovered in 6000 BC in Georgia as revealed by the ancient scriptures like the Rigveda and the New Testament, and the literary writings. Not only this, it is regarded as a gift from God, describing as a divine fluid in Indian mythology. Admittedly, except for water and milk, no other beverage has earned such universal acceptance and esteem throughout the ages as wine. It has been a part of the human diet ever since his settlement in the Tigris–Euphrates Basin. The Codex Alimentarius Commission has defined the wine as a food: which means any substance, whether processed, semi-processed, or raw, which is intended for human consumption, and this includes drink. Preparation of wine though accidently, is an important method of preservation and preparation of perishables and to make a product with appealing qualities, even today.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta crantz), a perennial shrub is cultivated mainly by resource-limited small farmers for its starchy roots. It is used as a human food either fresh when low in cyanogens or in many processed products, mostly starch, flour and for animal feed. Because of its inherent tolerance to stressful environments, where other food crops fail, it is often considered as a food-security source against famine, requiring minimal care. Cassava flour and starch may act as potential valuable substitutes of maize, rice and wheat crops. The benefits ranged from being a human staple food, constituent of animal feeds, raw material in food processing, edible coatings, paper making industry, indigenous alcoholic beverages to ethanol production. The vast production of cassava under marginal soil conditions can be explored in order to maximize its potential as an industrial crop for interested entrepreneurs. All these aspects have been reviewed here especially with respect to food and fermentation industry.

Ochratoxin A (L-phenylalanine-N-[(5-chloro-3, 4-dihydro-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-oxo-1H-2 benzopyrane-7-yl)carbonyl] -(R)-isocoumarin) (OTA) one of the most studied mycotoxins is produced by Penicillium verrucosum and by Aspergillus ochraceus but a few isolates of Aspergillus niger. It is one of the most important mycotoxin contaminants in agricultural products and continues to attract global attention concerning the hazard and impact on both human and animals due to its toxicity and occurrence. It has been detected in food commodities such as cereals, wine, coffee, figs, dried fruits and beer and in feeds for animals. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies it as a possible carcinogen to human (group 2B). Its symptom includes low appetite, weight loss, faintness, depression, high thirst and increased urination. OTA is one of the major causes of death in human beings and animals. These toxic fungi, contaminate food products in different phases of production and processing, especially in suitable environmental conditions viz., temperature and moisture conditions.

Fermentation is a very vital stage of cocoa processing to obtain high quality chocolate product. This study was conducted to obtain an optimal result of chocolate fermentation by determining the concentration and types of amino acid of lindak clone cacao beans using HPLC. Pre-conditioned process was done in order to get water content to 15% in pulp the same level as the traditional process from farmer. Before fermentation dried cocoa beans were rehydrated to obtain a water content of pulp at the same level as fresh cocoa bean pulp. The fermentation, was conducted for 120 h. The fermentation the three level treatments an control without inoculum, mixed with culture of microbies add and the begining of fermentation. The fermentation was started using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus lactis and Acetobacter aceti was added the fermentation and finally, treatment gradually microbies added during fermentation. The analysis of amino acids was conducted using HPLC separation method based on the procedure at outlined earlier. The measurement of amino acid was performed in two phases, liquid hydrolysis, and derivatization proceeded by chromatographic analysis. Condition of HPLC was measured at 37 °C. Mobile phase contains of 60% acetonitril - AccqTag Eluent A, gradient system and the flow rate was 1.0 ml per minute. Fluorescence detector had 250 nm excitation and 395 nm emission. Injecting volume was 5 uL. The results of this study showed that cocoa beans 120 h fermentation has higher products of aspartic acid, glutamic acid, hydrophobic amino acids (Alanine, leucine, proline, valine, isoleucine) and amino acids such as serine, glysine, histidine, treonine and lysine, while local clones of cocoa beans with 3-days fermentation produce more amino acids such as aspartic, glutamic, hydrophobic (isoleucine, leucine, valine) and amino acids such as histidine, threonine, glysine, serine and lysine.

The suitability of defatted flaxseed flour for cracker preparation was investigated in this study. The defatted flaxseed flour was blended with refined wheat flour in the ratios of 100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, 80:20, 75:25 and 70:30. The developed products were packed in laminate aluminium pouches and stored for 90 days at room temperature to ascertain the changes in chemical and mineral composition. From the results it was concluded that with the incorporation of roasted and partially defatted flaxseed the mean antioxidant activity was 33.87%, total phenolic content 113.33 mg/100g, free fatty acid 0.57% as oleic acid and peroxide value 0.29 meq. peroxide/kg of sample were observed the highest in treatment S7 (30% flaxseed flour). However, minimum mean calcium and potassium content of 491.64 and 94.59 mg per 100 g were recorded in S1 (0% flaxseed flour), respectively. In general, with the incorporation of roasted and partially defatted flaxseed flour, all the chemical parameters increased whereas, with the advancement of storage period decreased.

This study was conducted to evaluate the quality and shelf-life of chicken meat cutlets by incorporating functional ingredients like carrots and oats at optimized levels carrots (0, 5, 10, 15, 20% levels) and oats (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5% levels) in the products for their optimization in the formulation of chicken meat cutlets. On the basis of sensory evaluation, best levels of carrots (10%) and oats (5%) were incorporated in the chicken meat cutlets and stored under frozen conditions (-20± 2ºC) for two months after packaging in coextruded plastic film (conventional and vacuum packs) packs to evaluate shelf-life of the product. It was observed that functional chicken meat cutlets (carrots and oats) chicken meat cutlets had significantly (p≤0.05) higher moisture, cooking yield, color (L, a, b values) sensory attributes and lower ash, fat, protein, free fatty acids, peroxide values, lower shrinkage, shear force, pH and total viable count in comparison to control chicken meat cutlets. The chicken meat cutlets containing functional ingredients had significantly (p≤0.05) higher acceptability than control chicken meat cutlets. Vacuum packed chicken meat cutlets had significantly (p≤0.05) higher moisture, lower free fatty acid content, lower peroxide value and higher overall acceptability than conventionally packed chicken meat cutlets at the end of two months of frozen storage period (-20± 2ºC).

A study was undertaken for developing a pickled product using meat of the carp, rohu (Labeo rohita). The meat pieces were subjected to different preprocesses treatments, viz., salting, drying, frying, baking, smoking and marinating in various combinations. The most acceptable combination was marinating fish meat pieces for 15 min followed by smoking for 3 h at 60oC and frying for 30 sec at 180oC in refined vegetable oil. Vinegar- tamarind juice mixture in 1:1 proportion was found to be the most preferred acid source for preparing the pickle. Three types of pickles were prepared, selected pretreatments and acid mixture, of pH values 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0, and storage studies were conducted for a period of 72 days. Sensory scores for odour, texture, taste and overall quality dropped significantly after 24 days in the case of pickle of initial pH value 5.0, and became unacceptable on the 36th day. Pickles adjusted to pH values 4.0 and 4.5, showed an increasing trend in sensory quality during first few weeks of storage, after which the sensory scores remained more or less steady for rest of the period. The total plate count showed no increase in pickles of pH 4.0 and 4.5 during storage, but it significantly increased in pickle of pH 5.0. This was accompanied by significant increases in total volatile base nitrogen content and pH in the latter. The peroxide value also increased at a greater rate indicating oxidation of tat. Thus, it was concluded that pH of 5.0 is unsuitable. Among the other two lots pH 4.5 was found more suitable as the product could be well preserved and the sourness was found to be less organoleptically compared to the pickle of pH 4.0.

Fermentation of apple juice was done for 72 hrs by lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum and Streptococcus thermophilus)and physico-chemical characteristics of fermented apple juices were recorded at 0. 24, 48 and 72 hrs intervals. On the basis of highest lactic acid bacterial counts, rate of fermentation (°B/24hr), acidity, sugar utilization percentage, retention of ascorbic acid and total phenols, antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli and S. aureus, while lowest pH, coliform, yeast and mold counts, the best treatments L. plantarum 107cfu/ ml for apple fermented apple juice was selected for storage study viz. During fermentation both vitamin C and total phenols declined, while, the antioxidant activity, antimicrobial activity, viable cell counts and lactic acid bacteria counts were increased. As the antimicrobial activity increased, the counts of coliform, yeast and mold declined. During storage of selected treatment of fermented apple juice for four weeks at 4°C retained physico-chemical parameters above the value of significance. Lactic acid bacteria remained viable in prescribed number (4.76-6.00 × 106 cfu/ml), acid and bile resistance, imparted antimicrobial activity and antioxidant activity to the apple juices during storage and thus, could be called as probiotics juices. Based on the sensory evaluation (visual colour and flavours) of fermented apple juice, it was concluded that lactic acid fermentation did not influence the desirable characteristics of apple juices. So the probiotic juices were acceptable. Identification of lactic acid bacteria by biochemical test concluded that the bacteria were L. plantarum in apple juices which were inoculated in juices for fermentation, after storage apple juice were suitable for lactic acid fermentation to produce a probiotic beverage. So, this juice can serve as healthy beverage for vegetarians and lactose allergic consumers.

Macaroni (pasta)—a popular extruded product prepared using durum wheat semolina is rich in complex carbohydrate, vitamin-B but deficient in proteins especially lysine and threonine leading to low biological value of the product. The present study was conducted to prepare a nutritionally enriched macaroni by supplementing semolina with white button mushroom. The fresh mushrooms are a rich source of proteins having most of the essential amino acids in good proportions, thus, can be a better option for nutritional enrichment of pasta with 10 to 30% supplementation. The mushroom fortified pasta showed better antioxidant activity of 11.14 percent as compared to 5.61% in control with phenol contents ranging from 0.559 to 0.660% with increased mushroom fortification. A gradual increase in moisture content, carbohydrates was also noticed with decreased crude fibre, crude protein, and fat as well. The SEM study and rheological properties showed the clear picture of protein network, a smooth outer surface, and significant increase in chewiness and springiness that resulted in a desirable mouthfeel during eating. Therefore, on the basis of sensory and rheological properties of mushroom supplemented pasta, the ratio of 80:20 was found to be the best and thus optimized for development of nutritionally enriched macaroni.

People in the south-west coast of India preserve raw jackfruit kernels in the brine solution by natural fermentation. Traditionally, high salt concentration brine is utilized to maintain texture and avoid contamination; the product is then, stored and consumed until the next fruiting season. Study was conducted to identify salt-tolerant microbiota in traditionally fermented jackfruit. Given priority to the texture, taste and odour of the fermented kernels, attempt was made to prevent excess use of salt by standardizing brine solution and at the same time inhibiting undesirable yeasts and moulds in the fermented product. Study revealed the presence of salt tolerant lactic acid bacteria, Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus spp. and yeasts belonging to genera Saccharomyces and Geotrichum. Population of moulds and yeasts reduced significantly at 12 % salt concentration compared to 5 % and 10 %. Texture, odour and overall acceptability of the fermented kernels were recorded as the best at 12 % brine solution though it revealed saltish taste.

Mulberry (Morus spp.) is a fruit known for its nutritional qualities and flavor. Traditionally, it is used as a natural medicine due to high content of active therapeutic compounds. Its fruits are rich in sugar and therefore, are potential substrate for wine production. Mulberry accessions viz., MI-118, MI-497 and MI-362 were screened for wine preparation. The sensory evaluation revealed that the wine prepared from variety MI-497 was the best due to an attractive deep red colour, 7.60B TSS; 0.34 per cent acidity; 0.16% tannins; 0.23% reducing sugar; 0.41% total sugar; 2.89 mM/ml antioxidants; 10.17 mg/100ml anthocyanin and 13.2 % (v/v) alcohol. The wine from mulberry accessions MI-362 was comparatively sweeter with higher TSS and acidity but low in anthocyanins content (2.46 mg/100 ml). HPLC analysis detected gallic acid, p – coumaric acid, catechins, kaempferol and epi-catechin as major phenolic compounds present in the wines. The data obtained revealed that the mulberry accessions MI-497 and MI-362 are suitable for wine production. Wine prepared from Indian mulberry accession MI-497 had the high antioxidant (2.89 mM/ml) and anthocyanins (10.17 mg /100 ml) content and thus, could have good market potential.

This study was under taken to improve the nutritional contents of mango peel and seed meal (var. Totapuri) by solid state fermentation, using different yeasts viz., Saccharomyces boulardii, S. cereviceae (MTCC 170) and lactic acid bacteria viz., Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum. The results revealed that the mango peel fermented by single inoculation with lactic acid bacteria, L. plantarum and yeasts S. boulardii showed more decrease in pH (3.21) and TSS (4.23 Brix) while combined inoculation significantly enhanced the protein (7.88%), fat (4.18), ash (5.74 %) and minerals Ca (0.70%), Mg (0.46%), K (1.30%), Fe (313ppm), Mn (45.80 ppm) over the control. Similarly, fermentation of mango seed meal by combined inoculation of L. plantarum and probiotic yeasts S. boulardii showed a significant enhancement of protein (13.01%) over the control (7.81%). The results showed that the strains L. plantarum and S. boulardii were more efficient in enhancing the nutrients in mango peel and mango seed wastes.

Spirulina (Spirulina platensis), the blue green algae is a rich source of proteins and has several therapeutic properties. The present study focused on incorporating spirulina powder with little millet (Panicum miliare) flour in the preparation of cookies. Physico-chemical properties, textural profiles and sensory qualities of spirulina incorporated little millet special cookies were prepared and analysed. Cookies were prepared by incorporating spirulina powder (5-10%). Results of sensory evaluation showed that 8% spirulina powder with 75% little millet flour was highly acceptable, with a score for overall acceptability being 8.6. Carbohydrate, protein, fat, fibre, calcium and iron content of the standardized cookies were found to be 65.00; 12.31; 20.18; 5.41g; 27.50 and 6.92mg/100g, respectively. The shelf-life of the product was better in plastic containers (600G) than propylene bags (200G) for a storage period up to 30 d.

Ethanolic extract of Rhododendron arboreum flowers was analyzed for antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Antioxidant activity was determined by DPPH (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and FRAP (Ferric reducing antioxidant power) assays. The antioxidant activity of flowers extract for DPPH assay was 134.1±2.34 mM TE/g and for FRAP assay was 140.6±2.76 mM TE/g. The antimicrobial activity was measured by agar well diffusion method against six different bacterial species out of which; three were Gram-positive and three were Gram-negative. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bacteriocidal concentration (MBC) were also determined for each pathogen using a 96-well microtiter plate method. The results reported in mg/ml, indicated that all the bacterial strains (Gram-positive and Gram-negative) were effectively inhibited by the ethanolic extract of Rhododendron flowers. E.coli exhibited highest sensitivity to flowers extracts with maximum zone of inhibition (17mm) at extract concentration 50mg/ml and Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis showed minimum inhibition (8mm each) at extract concentration of 25mg/ml. Highest MIC was observed against E.coli (1 mg/ml) and Shigella flexneri (1 mg/ml).

The sensorial and nutritional evaluation of four products developed by using niger seeds (Guizotia abyssinica) was investigated. Idli, poha, dhokla and pop ups were prepared by supplementing niger seeds at different levels for different recipes and were sensorily evaluated using 9 point hedonic rating scale. Incorporation of the quantity of niger seeds higher than 20% decreased the acceptability due to dark colour and high fibre content. Idli, poha, dhokla and pop ups, were found to be acceptable at 15, 20, 10 and 9% level of supplementation of niger seeds, respectively with overall acceptability scores as 8.3, 7.8, 8.5 and 7.8. The developed products were found to have increased nutritive value as compared to their respective control samples in terms of protein, fat, fibre, iron and in vitro protein digestibility. Supplementation of these products to the vulnerable groups can help in combating protein-energy malnutrition and anaemia.

An attractive and stable colour is important in the marketability of foods and beverages. However, replacing synthetic dyes with natural colorants poses a challenge due to the higher stability of synthetic colorants with respect to various conditions like light, temperature, pH and is therefore, a major concern in colouring foods. However, the lower stability of natural colourants against environmental factors could pose restriction to their utilization as food colorants in industry. Therefore, the stability of food bio-colour extracts from soybean meal fermented by Monascus purpureus (MTCC 410) in SSF was investigated under various conditions. The food bio-colour extracts were characterized for considerable stability and it was found that these extracts are stable in dark, at low temperatures (20°C, 40°C and 60°C) while the red, orange and yellow bio-colour extracts showed a good stability at pH of 6, 4 and 2, respectively. The stability of Monascus food bio-colours compares well with other natural colours, so that these food bio-colours will be a promising colour additive for food industry.

Studies were conducted to develop a novel product- osmotically dried and appetizing flakes from fresh ginger rhizomes keeping in view its nutritional significance. Ginger contains ascorbic acid (8.48 mg/100 g), antioxidant activity (57.45%), crude protein (2.73%) and total phenols (10.18 mg/100 g) that accounts for its characteristic aroma and therapeutic properties. Mechanically peeled rhizomes were sliced into suitable size of 3.5×0.4×0.4 cm3 followed by blanching in 1.0% lemon juice or citric acid for 15 minutes for the preparation of osmotically dried and appetized ginger flakes. The cost of production of osmotically dried ginger flakes was calculated as ` 22.64 to 22.97/200g for glass jars and ` 15.65 to ` 15.72/ 200g for aluminium laminated pouches for citric acid and lime juice blanching, respectively. The commercial adoption of this technology seems to be a profitable venture for efficient utilization of fresh ginger rhizome as well as enhancing the income of growers.

The freshly harvested Sweet Corns (Zea Mays L.) were packed in different packaging materials like low density polyethylene (LDPE) with (0.2%) and without ventilation, MAP using diffusion channel and silicone membrane, vacuum packing and Shrink wrapped materials stored in refrigerated conditions. The temperature 0 °C was maintained to evaluate the nutritional quality of sweet corns. Among six different packaging systems tested for the sweet corn storage, the least value of PLW (0.533%), better retention of total sugar in corn kernels without conversion into starch, maximum shelf-life (16 days) and high sensory quality was documented with shrink wrapping package system which showed encouraging results with respect to physical properties and sensory quality evaluation when compared with the other treatments.

Mozzarella cheese is soft, unripened cheese variety of the pasta filata family which had its origin in the Battipaglia region in Italy and was traditionally made from buffalo milk. In the present work, it is prepared by admixing of two different kinds of milk viz., Cow and Buffalo milk. The samples were prepared as To to T5 and the sample T1 and T2 proved to be the best samples on the basis of sensory evaluation. The protein content of sample T1 and T2 was observed to be 22.95% and 22.87%, respectively, whereas, the fat content of sample T1 and T2 was 22.77% and 20.61%, respectively. The observation recorded shows that yield and moisture content of mozzarella cheese depend on total solid content of buffalo or cow milk. The cheeses were subjected to microbiological analysis and sensory evaluation at storage refrigerated temperature (40oF) and at intervals of 15, 30, 45 and 60 days. New imitated process cheese, similar to stretched cheese, was used successfully as a topping material for pizza instead of Mozzarella cheese.

Fermented foods are the important components of the diets of many parts of the world since time immemorial as it increase the nutritive value, organoleptic characteristics, decreases the cooking time and enhance the shelf-life. Hence, a study was undertaken with the objective to develop fermented food (Idli) using multigrain flour mixture and to assess its organoleptic and nutritional properties. Standard recipe (Idli) served as a Control (T0). Along with control; four variations of Idli were prepared by replacing rice with different ratio of multigrain flour mixture which was referred to as T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. They were tested for different sensory attributes. Proximate analysis was used to determine the nutritional composition of Idli. Appropriate statistical technique was adopted for the analysis. The result revealed that the T2 (8.30±0.14) was found to be the most acceptable with regards to its overall acceptability followed by T1(8.22±0.81), T0(8.11±0.29), T3 (7.44±0.54) and T4 (6.66±0.81), respectively. Nutrients content was significantly increased in treatments as compared to control. Thus it can be concluded that value added fermented multigrain product has good organoleptic and nutritional quality.

Cucumber is valued for its nutritive and medicinal properties. The optimization of the fermentation process with reference to yeast concentration and the period of fermentation has been attempted by using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for its value addition. The statistical design suggested 13 formulations, with the yeast concentration ranging from 0.29-1.70% and the fermentation process period varied from 0.17-5.82 days. The responses such as acidity, pH, Brix, ascorbic acid, and sensory quality attributes were studied. Overall the fermentation time and yeast concentration were optimized with 1.3% yeast concentration and 1 day fermentation time for preparation of fermented beverage. The optimized results were acidity (%) 0.25, pH 3.56, Brix° 22.7, Vitamin-C 5.28 mg/100ml. The product gave a score of sensory evaluation for more than 8 in various attributes.

This study was conducted to prepare functionally enrich squash from Rhododendron (Rhododendron arboreum Sm.) petals. The prepared product was evaluated for various physico-chemical functional properties. The addition of extract effected all the parameters positively. Antioxidant compounds viz. ascorbic acid 33.12±0.03, 14.93±0.09 and 18.80±0.11mg/100g, total anthocyanins 29.67±0.85, 10.88±0.21 and 14.10±0.18mg/100g and total phenols 34.14±0.43, 20.61±0.15 and 21.00±0.11mg/100g were documented in Rhododendron flowers, sugar based Rhododendron squash and honey based Rhododendron squash, respectively. The advancement of storage decreased TSS, total sugars, reducing sugars, acidity, ascorbic acid, total anthocyanins and total phenols but slight increase in pH value of both type of squashes took place. Overall, 30 per cent rhododendron juice and final TSS 45°Brix is recommended to prepare a good quality honey based rhododendron squash.

Book Review