Cottage Level Processing of Jackfruit for Value Added Products-Dr. R. T. Patil, Ex Director, CIPHET, Ludhiana

Introduction

Jackfruit is becoming increasingly popular nowadays as researches and studies on this fruit are continually revealing more and more health breakthroughs. It is considered the largest tree-borne fruit in the world with an average weight of 3.5kg to 10 kg and can reach up to 25kg. Jackfruit is sweet in taste and has a distinguishable and nice smell. In addition to its sweet, nice, taste and smell, every part of this tree is medically beneficial including the bark, leaves, roots, flowers, pulps and seeds and each of these parts has its separate qualities. The growing stages of jackfruit also differ from each other and provide different therapeutic qualities.

Nutritional Qualities of Jackfruit

Jackfruit is infused with a diverse set of vitamins such as vitamin C and A, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, calcium, potassium (with 303 mg found per 100 g), iron, zinc, sodium and folic acid. It is one of the few trees rich in B-complex group vitamins as well as vitamin B6. It contains phytonutrient properties such as anti-cancer, anti-hypertensive, anti-ulcer and anti-inflammatories. It’s a rich source of phytonutrients and phenolics. It contains minerals, fiber, protein, and is free of fats It is antibacterial and antiviral which is a great support to the immune system. It is low in calories 100 g of jackfruit only contains 94 calories.

Health benefits of Jackfruit

Cancer healer: Due its richness with anti-oxidants and phytonutrient properties, plus its content of Vitamin C, jackfruit can cure different types of cancer such as lung cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, skin cancer and prostate cancer. These properties treat cell damage and develop resistance.

Weight loss agent: As obesity rates are on the rise, jackfruit can help in weight loss because it’s free of fat and low in calories that enable dieters to safely and comfortably consume it and fully benefit from all its other nutrients.

Blood pressure reducer: With its high amount of potassium, jackfruit reduces and controls blood pressure which consequently lowers the chances of heart attacks, strokes, and cardio-disorder in general.

Digestion improver: Jackfruit contributes in improving the digestive system when eating it regularly due to its high content of fibers (3.6 g for every 100 g). It causes no stomach pain even if eaten in huge quantities and improves the bowel movement. It also protects the colon by removing carcinogenic chemicals out of the large intestine.

Insomnia curer: Sleeping disorders can be cured by eating jackfruit, due to its richness with magnesium and iron that assist in improving the overall quality of sleep. Magnesium also helps in preventing anemia which is one of the major causes of insomnia.

Diabetes friendly: Although extremely sweet in taste, jackfruits are safely consumed by diabetics because it slowly absorbs sugar into the bloodstream which enables diabetic patients to safely consume it while getting all its health benefits. It also increases glucose tolerance for both types of diabetes.

Eye and skin maintainer: With its richness of vitamin A, jackfruit is good for maintaining healthy eye sight as it enhances eye vision and acts as a preventer against cataract and macular degeneration. It’s also regarded as an active anti-aging component for skin radiance. It protects damaged skin caused by sun exposure and treats wrinkles.

Ulcer healer: As typical drugs for ulcer medication leave several side effects, jackfruit is the best way to treat ulcer disorder because it contains powerful anti-ulcerative, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Bone supporter: For a good supplement of calcium for healthy bones, eating jackfruit is highly recommended. Besides calcium, it contains vitamin C and magnesium which further assists in calcium absorption.

Nerve system booster: Fatigue, stress and muscle weakness can also be treated by consuming jackfruit in daily diet for its rich content of vitamins such as thiamine and niacin (A portion of 100 g of jackfruit pulp provides 4 mg of niacin). It is also a perfect source of energy.

Post-harvest operations

For processing immature, over-ripe, damaged and misshapen fruits are sorted out. The fruits are graded  according to size as follows: - Large: weighing 16 kg and above - Medium: weighing 8 kg to 16 kg  The fruits of one grade are generally processed together. The fruits are washed using chlorinated water (100 ppm) to remove dirt, latex stains and any other field contamination. After washing the excess surface moisture from the surface is removed for further processing or storing.

The graded and washed fruits are packed into plastic containers or bamboo baskets for storage. The freshly harvested ripe fruits can be stored for 4 to 5 days at 25-35oC. The fruits can be kept for 2 to 6 weeks at 11-13oC and relative humidity of 85-95%, depending on cultivar and maturity stage. The jackfruits stored at temperatures below 12oC before transfer to higher temperatures show injury due to chilling. This includes dark-brown discoloration of the skin, pulp browning, a deterioration in flavour and increased susceptibility to decay.

The jackfruits should be ripened fully to achieve optimum aroma, sweetness, taste and eating quality.  The mature jackfruits are stored at 24-27oC. They will ripen in 3 to 4 days. However, uneven ripening is a major problem in the natural ripening process, especially for large-sized fruits. To achieve more uniform ripening, fruits are exposed to 50 ppm ethylene for 24 hours at 25oC. The fruits ripen 3 to 4 days after the treatment with ethylene gas when kept at room temperature.

Pre-processing into fruitlets

The fruits are cut into half lengths. Latex is exuded from the cut surfaces when extracting the flesh. The operator has to take care of coating hands, knives and work surfaces with vegetable oil to make clean-up easier. Carve out the sticky central core. Scoop out the individual fruitlets (bulbs). Sort the bulbs according to the required size, maturity and colour. Only full bulbs, (not half or partly cut) are recommended for retail consumption or for table purpose. Cut the end of the bulbs to remove the seeds according to consumers’ preference.  The jackfruit bulbs are packed in polythene bags which are heat-sealed or in polypropylene containers with lids. They can be kept at 2oC for 3 weeks. Maintain the chilled temperature of 2oC throughout the distribution process to avoid deterioration.

Pulping of bulbs

 Crush de-seeded jackfruit bulbs using a blender. Add 40-45 g of powdered sugar to every 100 g of smashed pulp and mix thoroughly. Dry mixture in a hot air drier at 80-85oC until moisture content reaches 20-22%. Place pulp in plastic containers and seal. Freeze the pulp and store for further processing. The pulp can also be packed in polythene bags or in plastic containers. It can be kept for more than one year when stored at -20 - -22oC.

Jackfruit Pickle

Peel the skin of the fruit. Cut peeled fruits into 12 to 18 mm thick slices. Prepare a 5% common salt solution by mixing salt with water (50 g salt/l). Place slices in a container submerged with salt (brine) solution. Drain the slices after 24 hours using a stainless steel sieve and wash them to remove the excess salt. Grind and mix the following spices (for 1 kg peeled jack- fruit): 2.5 g turmeric powder 25 g coriander seeds 10-20 g chilli powder 10 g salt 150 g sugar. Add the spice mix and vinegar (10 ml/kg) to the jackfruit slices and cook the mix in a stainless steel boiling pan for 30 minutes while stirring. Pour pickle into pre-sterilised jars and seal. Cool jars at room temperature and store them in cool and dry place.

Jackfruit Beverage

Cut fruit in half lengthwise. Carve out the core of the fruit. Scoop out the bulbs. Cut the end of the bulbs to remove the seeds. Homogenise the pulp using a pulper or blender. Boil the pulp for 5 minutes in a stainless steel boiling pan and cool it. Add pectin-degrading enzyme according to instructions on the packet. Keep mixture at room temperature overnight. Filter the extract using a muslin cloth or stainless steel filter. Prepare a 50% sugar syrup solution at 90oC by dissolving 500 g sugar in a small amount of water and make the volume up to 1 litre. Combine the fruit juice (30%) and sugar syrup (70%). To obtain 1 l of beverage mix 300 ml juice and 700 ml sugar syrup. Add preservative such as sodium metabisulphite (concentration up to 0.05%). Pour into pre-sterilised bottles by using either jug and funnel or stainless steel bucket with an outlet tap. Cap bottles and pasteurise sealed bottles at 80- 95oC for 10-20 minutes. Cool the bottles to room temperature by immersing in cool water.

Jackfruit based mixed fruit jam

Mix jackfruit pulp with other fruit pulps (jackfruit : other fruits = 1:1). Dissolve 10 g pectin per kg mixed fruit pulp in some water and add to the mixture. Add 1 kg sugar per kg mixed fruit pulp and mix. Heat the mixture in a stainless steel vessel while stirring continuously until the total content is 68 to 70%. 10. Pour jam into pre-sterilised jars and seal. The ideal pouring temperature is 82-85oC. Cool jars at room temperature.

 Dehydrated jackfruit

Cut the deseeded bulb into two or four pieces. Blanch fruit segments by plunging into boiling water for 2 minutes and cool them rapidly under clean cold water. Place blanched segments in a single layer on mesh dryer trays. Put them close together but not touching to achieve the maximum capacity and an even rate of drying. Load trays into the drying cabinet and dry at 55oC for 6-7 hours until the moisture content is reduced to 5%. Remove trays and pack dried fruits immediately in moisture- proof containers, e.g. 400 gauge polythene or polypropylene pouches and heat-seal them.

Processing of jackfruit leather

Add sugar (10-15% the weight of the bulbs = 100-150 g/kg) to deseeded bulbs according to variety used and taste. Blend the bulbs. Dissolve preservative (e.g. potassium or sodium metabisulphite (0.1 g/kg) in water and add to the product. Concentrate mixture in a steam- jacketed pan. Spread concentrate on stainless steel trays lined with grease proof paper in 3 mm thickness. Dry leather using a solar (2 days) or mechanical dryer (18 to 20 hours). Turn it over after 1 day in a solar dryer or 5 hours in an artificial dryer until the moisture content is 9-12%.

Dust the leather lightly with starch to reduce stickiness. Cut pieces or strips of the desired weight and size. Roll them like a scroll. To avoid them sticking together, lay them on a piece of grease proof paper and roll them with the paper. Pack the final product in poly thene or polypropylene bags and heat-seal them. To increase the shelf-life, place the bags into outer boxes to protect them from light.

Jackfruit candy

Prepare a brine solution containing 15% salt (150g/l) and 1% calcium chloride (10g/l). Soak the deseeded bulbs in brine solution for 2 days. Place a wooden plate with a weight on top of the fruit to keep them submerged in the brine. Remove the bulbs from the brine, wash to remove the salt and drain using a stainless steel sieve. Check the flavour to ensure that all salt has been removed. Prepare sugar syrup of 40oBrix. Boil the deseeded bulbs for 5 minutes in the syrup. Keep mixture at room temperature (28-31oC) for 24 hours. Remove bulbs from the syrup. Add more sugar to the syrup until it is 50oBrix (use a refractometer). Immerse bulbs in the syrup and keep at room temperature for 24 hours. Remove bulbs from the syrup. Add more sugar to the syrup until it is 62oBrix. Immerse bulbs in the syrup and keep at room temperature for 24 hours. Remove bulbs and quickly rinse in water to remove surface syrup. Drain off the syrup by spreading on wire trays. Dry drained fruits for about 1 day in a solar or tray dryer.  Pack candies in jars, tins, cardboard cartons or in polythene pouches and seal them.

Jackfruit powder

Cut deseeded bulb into 2-4 pieces. Blanch fruit segments by plunging into boiling water for 2 minutes and cooling them rapidly under clean cold water. Place blanched segments in a single layer on the mesh dryer trays. Put them close together but not touching to achieve the maximum capacity and an even rate of drying. Load trays into the drying cabinet and dry at 55oC for 6-7 hours until the moisture content is reduced to 5%. Grind pieces into a powder using a grinder or by pounding them using pestle and mortar. Sieve powder to remove lumps and unground material. Pack powder in moisture- proof containers, e.g. 400 gauge polythene or polypropylene pouches and heat-seal them.

Machine for separating pods bulbs from jackfruit

The Kerala Agricultural University has come up with a solution for the tiresome process of separating the edible pods of jackfruit from the sticky fruit. The jackfruit corer machine developed by the university helps to clean and take out the edible pods within a minute. If the process of splitting the fruit and isolating the pods is made easier and less time consuming, it will help improve acceptability of the fruit. The jackfruit corer recognises this need and completes the whole process within a minute.The machine has an efficiency of 85 to 90%. Further details can be had from the Professor & Research Engineer, AICRP on PHPT, Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Tavanur, Malappuram. Kerala

Central Horticultural Experiment Station (CHES), Bhubaneswar hasdeveloped a process protocol for minimal processing of jack fruit, consisting of peeling of the fruits, cutting them in small pieces and then a mild citric acid treatment for extended short term shelf life under refrigeration so that it can be conveniently marketed through super markets.