Development of a Ready to Serve Drink using Veralu Fruit (Elaeocarpus serratus)

Abstract

Veralu or Ceylon olive (Elaeocarpus serratus) is an underutilized fruit species in the wet and intermediate zones in Sri Lanka. Veralu pickles and cordials are already produced and available in the market though there is a potential for production of more value added products. This Study was carried out to develop a Ready-To-Serve (RTS) drink with simple and low cost technologies using Veralu fruit. Pulp was extracted from ripe, fleshy Veralu fruits. Four recipes using 8 to 15% veralu pulp with 10% of sugar and 0.01% sodium metabisulphite in one liter of water, considering the Sri Lanka standards for RTS fruit drinks. Sensory evaluation was conducted with 30 untrained panelists using a five point Hedonic scale and analyzed using non-parametric Friedman test with statistical software MINITAB. Recipe with 12% of fruit pulp was selected. The selected recipe was then tested for shelf life at two levels of sulfur dioxide (S02) (70 ppm and 40 ppm) stored for 2 months under ambient and refrigeration conditions. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and the mean separation by DMRT. Total soluble solids percentage, acidity and microbial counts were also determined at two-week intervals. Results indicate that the product quality was compatible with SLS 729:1985. 21.4% increase in acidity was observed when stored at ambient condition (30 °C, 70% RH) than refrigerated condition (5 °C, 75% RH). According to the results a premium quality RTS Veralu drink could be produced using 12% pulp using40 ppm of S02 that has two months shelf-life under ambient conditions.