Influence of cashew steaming on the quality attributes of cashew-pawpaw mixed fruit juice

Cashew is a tree crop that is valued for its nuts, with the fleshy fruits (cashew apple) receiving little attention due to its high acidity. In this study, ascorbic acid, total solid, total soluble solid, pH, titratable acidity and microbial stability of cashew-pawpaw juice prepared by mixing varying proportions (90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50) of raw or steamed cashew and pawpaw puree were evaluated. Increased in ascorbic acid (10.20-23.96 mg/100 g), total solid (8.03-12.37%), total soluble solid (1.37-3.5%) and pH (3.68-4.65) were recorded for the cashew-pawpaw juice samples. The titratable acidity (TTA) of the juice samples decreases (0.39-0.19%) with increasing amount of pawpaw puree in the juice blends. Total yeast and total coliform were not detected in the juice samples, however, the juice had low (1 × 105 - 1.5 × 105 log10 cfu/ml) total viable count. Cashew-pawpaw juice blend prepared from 50% raw cashew juice and pawpaw puree was highly rated in terms of taste, colour, flavor and overall acceptance. In conclusion, acceptable low acid juice that is also rich in ascorbic acid can be produced from blend of raw cashew and pawpaw puree. Keywords: Cashew juice; Pawpaw puree; Physicochemical properties; Steamed cashew; Vitamin C