Processing of mixed fruit juice from red - flesh dragon fruit and passion fruit.

Abstract

The production procedure of mixed juice from red-flesh dragon fruit and passion fruit was studied to produce a nutritious and flavorful product. Effects of the following parameters on the quality of the mixed fruit juice were investigated: (i) Pectinex Ultra SP-L concentration (0,1, 0,2 and 0.3%) and incubation time (90, 120 and 150 min), (ii) dragon fruit juice and passion fruit juice ratio (3:1, 4:1 and 5:1), (iii) added sucrose percentage (15, 18 and 21%) and ascorbic acid percentage (0.05, 0.1 and 0.15%), (iv) pasteurization temperature (75, 80 and 85 °C) and time (5, 10 and 15 min). The results showed that juice yield extracted highest (91.23%) when red-flesh dragon fruit was incubated with Pectinex Ultra SP-L at the concentration of 0.2% in 120 min. The sensory score was best when red-flesh dragon fruit juice and passion fruit juice were mixed at the ratio of 4:1 and sucrose and ascorbic acid were added at 18% and 0.1%, respectively. Pasteurization performed at 80°C in 10 min gave a microbe-free and product was retained the most betacyanin content (3.84%). This mixed fruit juice can help diversify juice products and make use of these fruits efficiently.