Development of Pomelo Pastille with the incorporation of Pomelo Pith

Abstract

The development of pomelo fruit pastilles incorporated with pomelo pith offers consumers a nutritious and natural confectionery option. The pomelo pith, with its high pectin content and strong gel-forming ability, serves as an innovative and sustainable ingredient for pastille products. The pastille formulations of F1-F3 were developed from 10% pomelo flesh and 10-20% pomelo pith. A 9-point hedonic scale, colour analysis, total soluble solid, water activity, pH and vitamin C content were conducted to determine the best formulation in the initial study stage. Subsequently, the proximate content and storage quality (microbial stability, pH and water activity) of the best and control formulations were assessed. The results showed that there were no significant differences in colour, aroma, taste and overall acceptance of the pastille (p>0.05). However, the F3 pastille with 20% pomelo pith demonstrated higher elasticity texture acceptance (p<0.05). Additionally, the F3 pastille contained a significantly higher amount of total soluble solids and exhibited a brighter yellow colour with values of L* (49.96), a* (2.27), and b* (16.01) compared to other formulations (p<0.05). The moisture (18.54%), ash (0.08%), protein (0.26%), and crude fibre (1.05%) content of the best pastille formulation were higher than those of the control pastille (p<0.05). The best pastille formulation could be stored for more than six weeks with pH of 3.54, water activity of 0.769, bacteria count of 3.4 x 10³ CFU/g as well as yeast and fungi count of 2.0 x 10² CFU/g. In conclusion, pomelo fruit with 20% pith produces an elastic pastille with a bright yellow colour and is a good source of crude fibre.