Nutritional, textural and shelf-life analysis of vacuum packaged wagashi treated with ginger (zingiber officinale) and African nutmeg (monodora myristica) extracts as a functional dairy food

Abstract

Wagashi is a form of soft cheese made from coagulated cow‟s milk using fresh Calotropis procera juice extracts. It is a highly nutritious food with an excellent source of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron and phosphorus. Wagashi is highly perishable at ambient conditions with its shelf-life being very short. At high temperature, it is highly possible to develop a sour smell and bitter taste. For this reason, wagashi samples were treated with ginger and African Nutmeg extracts. Physicochemical, mineral, texture profile analysis and shelf-life testing were carried out. Proximate analysis showed moisture contents of 55.25% in the control sample, 52.12% in the wagashi samples that were treated with ginger extracts and 50.75% in wagashi samples treated with African Nutmeg extracts. Fat content ranged from 3.55% in the control sample to 2.18% in the wagashi samples treated with ginger extracts. Crude protein ranged from 20.18% in the control sample to 22.49% in wagashi samples which were treated with African Nutmeg extracts sample. Carbohydrate content ranged from 19.08% in control sample to 23.28% in wagashi samples treated with ginger extracts. Ash content ranged from 1.75% in the wagashi samples treated with ginger extracts to 2.50% in wagashi samples treated with African Nutmeg extracts. All samples had high contents of protein and carbohydrate. The product quality was judged by instrumental texture profile using hardness, adhesiveness, springiness, cohesiveness, resilience, gumminess and chewiness as the textural parameters. Texture of the samples was hard, gummy and chewy because of the high values recorded. The microbial analysis was done with reference to Yeast and Mould count. The result of the shelf-life study showed that preserving the wagashi samples with vacuum packaging extended the shelf life of the wagashi from 3 days to 15 days of storage under ambient conditions. Also, the vacuum packaged wagashi samples treated with ginger and African Nutmeg extracts had the lowest yeast and moulds count during the shelf-life study. Generally all samples were accepted. Based on the results from the sensory test it was concluded that wagashi treated with ginger and African Nutmeg extracts could be a viable alternative to the wagashi.