Custard apple is a highly perishable and seasonal crop that cannot be stored for more than three days. Discoloration and microbial spoilage are major problems in preserving the pulp. As a result, processing of custard apple through spray drying is crucial in increasing the availability of the product during the off-season. Thus, an attempt was made to optimise the processing variables viz., inlet temperature (175, 180 and 185oC) and outlet temperature (70, 80 and 90oC). The results powder recovery ranged from 17.23-20.42%, moisture content 7.42-4.92%, water activity 0.39-0.27, ascorbic acid ranged from 17.16-12.03 mg/100g and non enzymatic browning 0.001-0.005 OD. In conclusion, the high quality spray dried custard apple powder can be obtained at inlet temperature of 185oC and outlet temperature of 90oC resulted maximum recovery (20.42%), minimum moisture content (4.92%) and water activity (0.27) that could be stable for the storage.

Spray drying, ascorbic acid, water activity and moisture content

Custard apple powder obtained at inlet temperature of 185oC and outlet temperature of 90oC (I3O3) was found to be good with respect to recovery (20.42%), moisture content (4.92%), water activity (0.27), while the maximum ascorbic acid was noticed at inlet temperature of 175oC and outlet temperature of 70oC.

Sangamesh, Manjula Karadiguddi, Kirankumar Gorabal, R.T. Patil, A.M. Nadaf and Suhasini Jalawadi (2023). Microencapsulation of Custard Apple Powder through Spray Drying. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(11): 609-611.