Studies on suitability of jackfruit (artocarpus heterophyllus lam.) bulbs for processing into "papad"- an indian traditional product

Papads are traditional savory preparations whose quality depends much on the base raw material. In the present study, 19 jackfruit selections were explored to know the suitability of their bulbs for papad making. The jackfruit types SRS-3 and SRS-15 recorded high starch and dry matter in their bulbs and were associated with higher papad yield. Moisture content in papads of different selections varied widely from 6.43 (SRS-32) to 14.66% (SRS-19). The selections UKY-14, SRS-6, SRS-12, SRS-15, SRS-16, SRS-17 and SRS-19 conformed to the Bureau of Indian Standards for moisture content. Papads made from different selections exhibited a wide variation for oil uptake and expansion on frying. The color and appearance of papads made from some jackfruit types appeared to be excellent even when their reducing sugar content was more than 2% (e.g., SRS-7), while in some other jackfruit types the color and appearance score was significantly lower, even with reducing sugars much lower than 2% in them. Hence, the effect of reducing sugar content on color of fried product appears to depend not merely on the level of reducing sugars but on the other factors (amino acids, moisture content, and temperature) responsible for Maillard reaction. The jackfruit selections SRS-33, SRS-26 and SRS-7 yielded papads of high organoleptic acceptability. Jackfruit is an indigenous and underutilized fruit crop with great yield potential and excellent nutritional qualities. However, its intense flavor may hinder its liking by the consumers. Through processing and product diversification, it is possible to alter the flavor and make it acceptable to the consumers. It is a well-known fact that salty snacks are a popular group of food item around the globe. Papad (wafer-like snack product) from jackfruit has been produced and consumed in jackfruit-growing areas in India. However, it is not possible to make papad from all jackfruits in a similar way as all potatoes are not suitable for chips. Presently, there is no standard jackfruit variety recognized for papad purpose. In this work, we have studied the raw material quality, analyzed the product quality, and based on these parameters, we attempted to identify jackfruit types suitable for papad that has the potential to become a popular product in Indian and international markets.