2015 - Applied

Preservation of Coconut Toddy Sediments as a Levening Agent for Bakery Products

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Preservation of Coconut Toddy Sediments as a Levening Agent for Bakery Products Madushan, B.R.; Navaratne, S.B.; Wickramasinghe, I. Attached; Toddy sediment (TS) was cultured in a PDA medium to determine initial yeast load, and also it was undergone sun, shade, solar, dehumidified cold air (DCA) and hot air oven (at 40°, 50° and 60”C) drying with a view to preserve viability o f yeast. Thereafter, this study was conducted according to two factor factorial design in order to determine best preservation method. Therein the dried TS from the best drying method was taken and divided into two portions. One portion was mixed with 3: 7 ratio o f TS: rice flour and the mixture was divided in to two again. While one portion was kept under in house condition the other was in a refrigerator. Same procedure was followed to the rest portion o f TS loo but it was at the same ratio o f corn flour. All treatments were vacuum pocked in triple laminate pouches and the best preservation method was determined in terms o f leavening index (LI). The TS obtained from the best preservation method was used to make foods (bread and hopper) and organoleptic properties o f it were evaluated against same o f ordinary foods using sensory panel with a five point hedonic scale. Results revealed that yeast load or fresh TS was 5 8 * 106 CFU/g. The best drying method in preserving viability o f yeast was DCA because U o f this treatment (96%) is higher than that o f other three treatments. Organoleptic properties o f foods prepared from best preservation method are as same as ordinary foods according to Duo trio test.

Variance of Granular Morphology in Kithul (Caryota urens) Flour among Five Different Growing Areas in Sri Lanka

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Variance of Granular Morphology in Kithul (Caryota urens) Flour among Five Different Growing Areas in Sri Lanka Wijesinghe, J.A.A.C.; Wicramasinghe, I.; Saranandha, K.H. Attached; Kithul (Caryota Urens) palm is a useful tree in Sri Lanka being the sap is used as an ingredient for a large number of foods. Kithul flour also will be a good ingredient having considerable gelling property. The objectives of this study were to analyze the granular morphology of Kithul flour and study differences among flour samples from five main Kithul growing areas. Flour samples were collected from both household and commercial markets representing five main Kithul growing districts: Rathnapura, Kegalle, Kandy, Matale and Kurunegala. Microscopic measurement of starch granules was done using light microscope under the magnification power of 400 x with Magnus live USB 2.0 viewer and Image tool for windows softwar). Flour treatments did not differ with respect to granular morphology with mean length and width of starch granule being 45.5 μm, 26.4 μm, respectively. This study showed different shapes of Kithul starch granules such as spherical, oval, and irregular globular with oval shape being the most common shape (51.4% of total granules). Analyzed results revealed that there were no significant differences among Kithul flour samples obtained from five main growing districts with respect to granular morphology which could be a positive point for using composite Kithul flour from different growing areas for future food applications.

Variance of Colour attributes of Kithul (Caryotaurens) flour from different growing areas in Sri Lanka

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Variance of Colour attributes of Kithul (Caryotaurens) flour from different growing areas in Sri Lanka Wijesinghe, J.A.A.C.; Wicramasinghe, I.; Saranandha, K.H. Attached; Kithul (Caryotaurens) flour has great gelling properties compared to other flour from plant sources. The colour of flour samples collected from five main Kithul growing districts, namely Rathnapura, Kegalle, Kandy, Matale and Kurunegala district, was analyzed by two methods as Universal Colour Language (UCL) colour chart and Colorimeter (Konica Minolta colorimeter, sensing, Japan). Pale yellow (UCL 89) was the most common colour while yellowish .white colour (UCL 92) was not present in Sabaragamuwa province. According to the readings, there were significant differences (p < 0.05) among flour samples from five different growing areas for L*(lightness), a*(redness) values andb* (yellowness) values. Kandy (71.56) and Kurunegala (70.18) flours presented higher L* values than those of other flour treatments. Kithul flour samples from Matale district has the lowest L* value (65.58). The lowest a* value (4.54) was observed in Kandy flour samples while the highest values were reported from Kegalle (5.34) and Rathnapura (5.29). In the case ofb* (yellowness) values presented the highest value was observed in flour samples from Kegalle (17.90). The lowest b* value was reported from Matale (14.29).From the results the flour samples Matale (AE-34.77) and Kegalle (AE=34.65) had a greater deviation from the standard colour value than the other samples.

The effect of quality attributes in determination of price for plantation-grown Teak (Tectona grandis) logs in Sri Lanka

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

The effect of quality attributes in determination of price for plantation-grown Teak (Tectona grandis) logs in Sri Lanka Jayawardhane, J.K.P.C.; Perera, P.K.P.; Lokupitiya, R.S.; Amarasekara, H.S.; Ruwanpathirana, N. Attached; Teak (Tectona grandis) is one of the highly demanded timber spe- | cies in Sri Lanka. When buying teak logs, customers assess their quality by p visual appraisal of surface characteristics such as visible defects. Hence, the p buyers’ preference for logs with desired attributes is reflected by the price s achieved in the market. In this study, we examined the influence of visually I observable quality attributes of plantation grown teak logs on their market | price. A set of 650 randomly selected teak logs were assessed for dimen- | sions, shape defects, surface defects and end-defects. Length of the log, p mid-circumference (under bark), diameter at top-end and butt-end, number I of knots per meter, average diameter of the knots, bend fraction, percentage I of heartwood, shape of the log, presence of buttress, position of the hollows, 1 presence of felling damages, splits and heart rot were recorded using standI " aid methods. Selling prices of logs were obtained from the records of log storing facilities. By using the multiple linear regressions, a price-quality model was developed to explain the impact of quality attributes on selling price. The regression model achieved a strong coefficient of determination (R!) of 0.87. Accordingly, the length, mid-circumference, number of knots per meter, bend fraction, hollow position, presence of buttresses and presence of heart rot were found to have a significant influence on the price. The relative price reduction due to presence of a specific log defect was further examined using the derived price-quality model. The presence of high number of knots had the highest detrimental impact on price, followed by the higher bend fraction, presence of hollows at top end and/or middle of the log, presence of heart rot and presence of buttresses respectively. These findings have implications in the improved management of teak plantations.