Quality Improvement of Non-Centrifugal Sugar as Affected by Blanching and Organic Clarification

Abstract

Non-Centrifugal Sugar commonly known as jaggery is a famous sweetening agent derived from sugarcane juice. The sugarcane juice undergoes enzymatic reactions during jaggery production, resulting in the darkening of its color. The study presents enzymatic inactivation of sugarcane juice, which was extracted from blanched sugarcane stalks and also the effect of organic clarificants on the quality of jaggery. Blanching of sugarcane stalks at 80 °C for 5 min inhibited enzymatic browning up to 53–55%. Clarification of juice was carried out using organic clarificants such as aloe vera leaf extract, moringa leaf extract at 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% v/v concentrations and chemical clarificant (Hydros). The jaggery prepared using organic clarificants, either using aloe vera or moringa leaf extract at 0.3% concentration was found to be superior in terms of insoluble solids, sucrose content, total phenols and total flavonoids. The jaggery prepared using chemical clarificants is brighter in color with low microbial load, however, it is inferior in quality parameters such as total phenols and flavonoids compared to jaggery prepared using organic clarificants. Hence, the technology of jaggery making from blanched canes using organic clarificants may be recommended as an alternative to chemical clarification to produce organic jaggery rich in bioactive compounds.