Innovative freeze-thaw step prior to osmotic dehydration produces softer aonla candies

Aonla candy is a premier product valued high for its bioactive composition. Development of a soft aonla candy is always a challenge and candies often turn hard subsequent to osmotic dehydration. Here, we evaluated the effect of freeze-thaw step prior to osmotic dehydration on textural and sensory quality of aonla candy. Our main intent was to develop candies with a soft texture. Optimum blanching temperature and time were determined as 95 °C for 7 min. Blanched fruit segments were frozen at − 8 °C for varying time period of 1–10 h and evaluated for texture, physicochemical parameters and drip loss. Optimum freezing time at − 8 °C was determined as 5 h using textural force. Subsequent thawing was carried at five thawing temperatures (10–50 °C) to determine optimum thawing temperature. Conventional Process Candies (CPC) was compared with Freeze Thaw Candies (FTC) in terms of texture and sensory profile. CPC had a hard texture and ranked low in sensory profile in comparison to FTC. Our results strongly suggest that integration of freeze-thaw step prior to conventional candying process produced candy with soft texture and high sensory quality. The outcome of the study will be useful for developing superior quality aonla candy.