Effect of Storage Conditions on Quality of Ready-to-Serve Beverage from Residual Osmotic Solution of Star Fruit

Increasing urbanization has boosted the demand for health related drinks based on indigenous fruits.Star fruit due to its high antioxidant potentials along with abundance in nutritional and medicinal qualities has been recently scrutinized for producing commercialized value added products.Present investigation is undertaken with a view to augment the use of resulting osmotic solution with fresh carambola juice for preparation of ready to serve beverage and to determine their storability with respect to quality characteristics.The formulated ready-to-serve (RTS) beverage stored for six months under ambient (25°-43°C) and refrigerated (10°C) condition exhibited overall sensory parameters within the limits of acceptance.With increasing storability, the ascorbic acid content decreased from a mean value of 23.94 to 18.42 mg/100mL (ambient) and 21.86 mg/100mL (refrigerated).Similarly, oxalic acid was reduced from 90.88 mg/100mL to 63.85 mg/100mL (ambient) and 88.55 mg/100mL (refrigerated).After 4 months of storage the scores of the sensory properties of RTS were found to be reduced to below 7.5 for ambient and below 8.3 for refrigerated samples.The refrigerated stored sample showed higher retaining property for flavor attributes.Moreover, the stored samples manifested the presence of bacteria, mold and yeast, yet within the limit of acceptance.