PhD

The study entitled “Documentation and quality evaluation of traditional foods of
central zone of Kerala” was taken up with the objectives of identifying and collecting
information on the various traditional foods of central zone of Kerala and documenting
their mode of processing, and evaluating quality characteristics of the selected less used
traditional foods.
The study was conducted in four districts namely Eranakualm,
Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram comprising the central zone of Kerala. Senior
citizens who possess the details of traditional food items and preparations in each
locality were selected as the respondents. The respondents were categorised based on
the communities they represent.
Details of traditional food habits with respect to preference for traditional foods,
the reasons for the preference, frequency of preparation of traditional foods, traditional
foods prepared during special occasions, festivals/rituals and during physiological
conditions and traditional foods included for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks were
collected from the selected respondents. Transition that occurred in the traditional food
pattern and in the preparation of traditional foods was also collected. Quality evaluation
of selected traditional foods was conducted at laboratory level with respect to chemical
constituents, acceptability and microbial growth. The foods were packed in suitable
packaging materials and stored under different conditions and the quality evaluation of
foods was carried out during storage.
Majority of the respondents preferred traditional foods due to their health
benefits and palatability. Most of the respondents prepared traditional foods for break
fast and lunch and also prepared different traditional snack items. Most of the
respondents did not prepare traditional health foods at home due to the laborious
procedure involved in the preparation and the commercial availability of these products.
Respondents belonging to different communities prepared various traditional foods
during special occasions, festivals/rituals and consumed traditional foods during
different physiological conditions. Most of the respondents included traditional food
items for breakfast and lunch.
Changes were observed in the traditional food pattern and traditional foods over
different years with respect to ingredients, method of preparation and vessels/ utensils
used for preparation. The recent trend of food consumerism was portrayed by the
increased frequency of eating out habits, purchase of instant mixes and bakery items.
From the traditional food items collected, twelve traditional foods namely
inderiyappam, kala kala, kaliyadakka, karinellikka, madhura puttu, manda,
muttayappam, niracha pathiri, paniyaram, poruvelangai, rankayyan and vishu katta
and three beverages namely, cherunaranga then vellam, inji paneeyam and paanakam
which were least used, nutritionally viable and organoleptically acceptable were
selected and replicated under laboratory level. Quality evaluation of these foods was
conducted initially and during storage.
Evaluation of the chemical composition of the traditional foods showed that
most of the traditional foods are rich in certain macro and micro nutrients. Organoleptic
evaluation of the replicated foods indicated that most of the traditional foods were
acceptable to the younger generation.
The replicated traditional foods were packed in suitable packaging materials and
stored under ambient or ambient and refrigerated conditions for different intervals.
Among the different replicated foods inderiyappam, muttayappam, niracha pathiri,
rankayyan and vishu katta were highly perishable and could be stored only for a day.
The quality attributes of paanakam, cherunaranga then vellam and inji paneeyam also
decreased considerably during storage.
From the present study, it was found that the selected traditional food items
could be replicated under the prevailing conditions without change in their quality
aspects. Hence, these technologies should be popularised as an attempt to conserve the
traditional cuisines of Kerala.