Quality retention of bael candy during storage

Two bael cultivars, namely Local cultivar and NB-5 with a large fruit and having a greenish to yellowish green, average fruit weight (723.50 and 1212.50 g), pulp (75.40 and 79.62%), TSS (12.2 and 14.4°Brix), ascorbic acid (13.12 and 27.36 mg/100 g pulp) and β-carotene (1868.01 and 1155.37 IU) were used in the study. The bael candy was prepared by using of cane sugar, citric acid, water and preservatives. The slices were dipped into different concentrations of alum solution for two hours and blanched. The best recipe of bael candy was found 2 per cent alum concentration. Further, the product was stored at room (25–37°C) and refrigerated temperatures (8–10°C) up to 8 and 12 months along with organoleptic score 4.66 and 4.94 was found best among all treatments of Local and NB-5 cultivars, respectively. Economic analysis revealed that the income per rupee investment of bael candy was Rs. 1.79 and Rs.2.01 for local and NB-5, respectively.