Studies on Suitability of Aonla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) Cultivars for Chutney Preparation and Biochemical Changes with Advancement of Storage Period

Aonla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) is well known for its medicinal and nutritional qualities. Apart from being rich in mineral and polyphenol contents, it is regarded as the richest source of vitamin ‘C’ (400–900 mg/100 g) among fruits except Barbados cherry. However, owing to highly acidic and astringent taste, value addition through processing is the only possible way for its economic utilization. In view of this, aonla chutney has a great potential in processing industry. Chutney samples were prepared using fruits of NA-6, NA-7 and Chakaiya for further studies. A recipe consisting of 1.0 kg fruit, 1.5 kg sugar, 50 g salt, 15 g ginger, 25 g hot spices, 10 g red chilli, 10 ml glacial acetic acid was found most ideal to prepare chutney. The prepared chutney samples were kept under ambient condition for storage study. The chutney remained acceptable upto 150 days. The chutney prepared from fruits of the cultivar NA-7 had highest content of ascorbic acid, total soluble solids, TSS/acidity ratio, pH, total sugar, non-reducing sugar and also scored highest organoleptic value at initial stage. While, the content of acidity and reducing sugar were found to be highest in chutney prepared from cultivars NA-6 and Chakaiya. During the storage period of chutney, the acidity, TSS, total sugar, reducing sugar and microbial evaluation (bacterial counts, yeast counts and mould counts) showed increasing trend while ascorbic acid, pH, TSS/acidity ratio, non-reducing sugar and organoleptic evaluation showed decreasing trend with advancement of storage period till 150 days under ambient condition. The chutney prepared from fruits of cultivar NA-7 had the highest B: C ratio, good sensory evaluation and high nutritional quality which could be considered suitable for developing chutney for commercialization.