MSc

A study on ‘Developing baked and confectionery
products based on sweet potato' was conducted with major
objective to develop value added baked and confectionery
products based on sweet potato flour. The study comprised of
standardisation of raw materials, product development,
assessing nutritional significance, organoleptic quality
studies, preference tests and shelf life studies.
The five baked and five confectionery products was
formulated with sweet potato flour as the basic ingredient.
Three combinations were tried with different proportions of
sweet potato flour. The other ingredients added to sweet
potato flour were maida, egg, sugar, ghee and skimmed milk
powder. The selection of best combination was based on amino
acid scores chemical scores and cost benefit ratio. A
combination with 50 per cent sweet potato flour and 50 per cent
maida was selected as the ideal combination, since it secured
higher amino acid score and chemical score. The cost of the
combination was also found to be satisfactory.

The nutritional composition of the food product revealed
that the product contained all the nutrients in optimum
quantity. The nutritional quality of the developed
food products after processing with reference to calories,
proteins, β carotene, calcium, phosphorous and zinc were
determined through suitable laboratory techniques. ISI type
tests specified to such products were administered to the
developed foods and the values were comparable with ISI
specification.
Organoleptic studies of the developed food products
was assessed by two groups of consumers viz., college students
and technical experts. The parameters tested were appearance,
colour, flavour, texture and taste. The analysis revealed that
both the baked and confectionery products got highest scores.
Baked products had a slightly higher mean score, compared to
confectionary products.
In the preference tests of the developed products
conducted among farm women of Venganoor, Srikariyam and
Kaliyoor panchayath and entrepreneurs in Thiruvananthapuram
city were also showed the same result.
Moisture and insect infestation were-lower in flour
stored in glass and plastic containers. Effect of storage on
moisture and over all acceptability were revealed that there
was an increase in moisture content during the fourth week of
storage period.



There was an increase in moisture during storage and
the difference was statistically significant. The overall
acceptability was found to be decreased after storage. There
was no insect infestation in the developed products during the
storage period. The assessment of microbiological quality
revealed that all the products were attacked by different types
of microorganisms.
The result of the present study suggest that new
methods of processing could be introduced to add value to the
crop and it is possible to develop different types of processed
products based on sweet potato products which may result in
increased consumption of tuber in the future and also for
building up a healthy rural population.