JELLY DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION FROM UNCONVENTIONAL FOOD PLANTS IN BRAZILIAN SEMIARID

Fence palm and umbu are fruit species with great distribution and well adapted to the semiarid region. Fence palm is a cactaceae with no food use and has bright purple color and a high percentage of pulp. The exploration of these fruits takes place in the form of processed products such as jelly, favoring the strengthening of the production chain. The objective of this research was the development of umbu jellies with fence palm fruit, as well as to characterize microbiologically, physicochemically and sensorially. Umbu fruits were harvested from rural communities on Frei Martinho-PB and the fence palm fruits were harvested on the Federal Institute of Paraíba (IFPB), Picuí campus. The fruits were washed, sanitized, processed and frozen, all the process was in the laboratory of food on IFPB-Campus Picuí. The work was focused on the processing of the fence palm and umbu jelly fruits with a concentration of umbu pulp from 100% to 0% and from 0 to 100% of fence palm fruit pulp from the fence and both having the same concentration of sucrose. Regarding the sensory analysis, it was observed that the evaluators preferred jellies with around 50 % (umbu) and 50 % (fence palm), this fact was observed because the jellies present acidity and sweetness relation more accepted by the tasters and attractive coloration. The pH of the jellies varied from 3.02 to 4.02, and for pulps of umbu and fence palm fruit were 2.98 and 3.93. As jellies containing 50% of umbu pulp and 50% of fence palm fruits showed sensorial acceptance of up to 33%. Mixed jams of umbu fruits with fence palm fruits are a potential alternative for exploration in rural communities. In addition, the value of innovation can also be exalted through the use of unconventional food pants from the semiarid region.