EFFECT OF SALT, DRYING TEMPERATURE AND PACKAGING MATERIALS ON THE QUALITY OF FERMENTED AND DEHYDRATED BAMBOO SHOOTS (Dendrocalamus hamiltonii)

Abstract

The present study focused on the effect of salt concentration (0%, 1.5%, 3%, 4.5% and 6%), drying temperature (50°C, 60°C,70°C), and packaging materials (high density polypropylene, low density polypropylene) on the sensory (color, smell, taste, texture and overall acceptability), chemical (moisture, acidity) and microbial quality (total plate count) of fermented and dehydrated bamboo shoots. The young and tender bamboo shoots (Dendrocalamus hamiltonii) were fermented for 18 days when the acidity development remained constant (0.72 g/100ml of lactic acid). The optimum 3% salt concentration was selected by sensory analysis. The selected bamboo shoots were dried at different temperature up to the moisture content (below 10%) and the effect of temperature on the sensory qualities was assessed. The final product was packed in high density polypropylene and low-density polypropylene in a range of 100gm and stored at room temperature (27°C-29°C). The changes in acidity, moisture and total plate count were studied in interval of 15 days for 90 days of storage period and the data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA using Genstat release 12.1(2013) and the means were compared using LSD at 5% level of significance. After the completion of experiment, 3% salt concentration, 70ᴼC drying temperature and HDPE packaging material was found to be preferred by the panelist. On further analysis of packaged product inside HDPE and LDPE, changes in acidity was seen from 1.1 to 1.6 and 1.8 g/100ml as lactic acid, moisture increased from 8.1% to 14.2 % and 16.05% and total plate count rose to 21 cfu/g and 31 cfu/g from 1 cfu/g respectively.