Development of Low-calories Beverage from Sapota Fruit

Sapota [Manilkara achras (Mill.) Fosberg] is belonging to the family sapotaceae and mainly grown in humid tropical and subtropical region of the world. India is considered to be the largest producer of the sapota in the world. This fruit is highly perishable, sensitive to cold storage and negligible scope for processing therefore, bulk of the produce is used for table purpose only causing huge post harvest losses. In these circumstances, it is essential to produce value added products from sapota. The experiment was conducted using different fruits, spices and herbs, sweetening agents and citric acid. The best and most acceptable beverages can be prepared by using sugar and spices along with citric acid. In case of low-calories, sucralose sweetened beverage excellent in all sensory parameters and found most stable during the storage. The herbs are rich in phenolic compounds, a source of antioxidant which is known for health remedy. As well as such food with low-calories will be assistive for people having diabetes, obesity and dental problem. Thus, the technology can be utilized with vantage to fascinate the market of functional as well as health food.