Elaboration and assessment of processes for the production of Annona muricata fruit puree

Abstract

The present study aim is to develop an appropriate process for the production of Annona muricata fruits puree whose strong metabolic activity is at the origin of its fragility and its perishability. The work involved is to evaluate the suitability of the presses through efficiency parameters of the extraction presses and studying the effect of different treatments (heating, peeling, seeds' removement) on the yield of the mash. Eight treatments are repeated on three presses. Initially, the fruits were sorted to retain those that are ripe and firm, washed once, cut and trimmed. The heating of the fruits was carried out for 5 minutes to boiling. The extraction consisted in squeezing the fruits until obtaining the maximum of puree. The three types of press used were the Chinese Expeller Type Press, the Manual Screw Press and the SOVIGUIDI Type Multifunction Press. After extraction, the mash is collected, filtered pasteurized and packaged in one-liter glass jars. The results obtained showed that the SOVIGUIDI Type Multifunction Press is more efficient because it presses on average 5.39 ± 1.11 Kg or 37.94 ± 8.25% puree from 11.06 ± 1.75 Kg of fruits in 284 ± 21.50 seconds. The mass of cake is evaluated at 1.04 ± 0.25 Kg while the mass of undetermined losses is in the order of 10.56 ± 2.24 Kg. This type of press can therefore be used for the production of Annona muricata fruits puree and juice.