Study on process standardization and storage behaviour of pickle prepared from aonla (Emblica officinalis Gaertn.) cultivars

Uttar Pradesh is the leading state in production and acreage under aonla cultivation in the country. Generally, aonla is considered as “Wonder Fruit for the Health” because aonla fruits are highly nutritious and having good medicinal value but fruits are not consumed freely in fresh form because of its astringent taste due to fruit tannins. The study aims to standardize the process of pickle preparation, which may become a popular method to prepare processed aonla product. Accordingly, eight aonla cultivars viz - Banarasi, Chakaiya, Kanchan, Krishna, NA – 6, NA – 7, NA – 8, NA – 9 were evaluated. Composition of aonla pickle with 1 kg aonla segments, 125 g salt, 10 g turmeric powder, 10 g red chillies powder, 25 g fenugreek, 10 g nigella seed, and 300 ml mustard oil was found ideal for pickle preparation of NA- 7 aonla cultivars. Observations on vitamin ‘C’ (ascorbic acid), total soluble solids (T.S.S.), acidity, and browning were recorded at the monthly interval. The periodical organoleptic assessment of pickle was also performed during storage. The result reported gradual reduction in the organoleptic scores of the aonla pickle, during storage. The acceptable quality of aonla pickle was found to be up to nine months. Therefore, NA-7 cultivar was found ideal for making pickle preparation.