Food Products and Value Addition
This domain tests product formulation, sensory quality and value addition for fruits, vegetables, dairy, bakery and traditional foods. Expect jam, jelly, squash, pickle, tomato products, snacks and waste utilisation.
Core concepts
- Jam and jelly: require adequate pectin, acid and sugar. Jam normally has about 68% total soluble solids; jelly sets through a pectin-sugar-acid gel.
- Squash and beverages: need controlled juice content, TSS, acidity and preservative levels, with proper pasteurisation and filling.
- Pickles: rely on salt, acid and oil; correct salt concentration and clean fermentation control spoilage.
- Value addition: grading, packaging, branding and by-product use raise returns and reduce waste.
Worked example
100 kg of fruit pulp at 10% TSS is used to make jam at 68% TSS. Let x be sugar added. Then 10 + x = 0.68(100 + x). Solving: 10 + x = 68 + 0.68x; 0.32x = 58; x = 181.25 kg sugar. The final batch mass is about 281 kg. This mass-balance approach is safer than adding a fixed percentage of sugar to the pulp.
Traps
Calculating sugar as a percentage of pulp only; ignoring the water in sugar or pulp; forgetting acid or pectin; overfilling bottles; using damaged fruit without sorting; assuming a recipe is compliant without checking the standard.