Studies on standardization of RTS beverage production from sweet orange (Citrus sinensis var. sathgudi) and storage

An investigation was carried out to standardize the recipe of sweet orange RTS beverage at processing laboratory in the Division of Post Harvest Technology, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangaluru from November 2008 to June 2009. The treatments included ready-to-serve sweet orange (var. sathgudi) beverages comprising varying amount of juice (10, 12, 15 and 18%) with fixed TSS and acidity of 15o Brix and 0.3%, respectively, with three replications. The RTS beverage was stored up to six months. The prepared juices were analysed for chemical composition and sensory quality attributes at 0, 3 and 6 months of storage at ambient conditions. During storage period, the TSS, acidity, reducing sugars and non-enzymatic browning were increased, while pH, total sugars, non-reducing sugars, ascorbic acid and antioxidant activity decreased considerably. In sensory evaluation, the RTS beverage comprising 18% juice, 15o Brix and 0.3% acidity was judged better than other recipes in terms of colour, taste and overall acceptability.