Quality Evaluation of Pickled Ivy Gourd (Coccinia grandis)

Ivy gourd is an underutilized vegetables found in the North of Minas Gerais State-Brazil. It is
mainly consumed raw as salad. Pickling fruits can enhance the commercial exploitation of this
species. However, no information on the processing techniques of the ivy gourd fruits in
Brazil is found in literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality parameters in the
production of pickled ivy gourd. The treatments consisted of three bleaching times (3, 6 and 9
minutes), using a completely randomized design, with seven replicates. We evaluated the traits:
instrumental analyzes of pH, color, total titratable acidity, soluble solids, texture and sensorial
affective tests. The pH is within the indicated range (below 4.5) and the bleaching time influenced
the color and texture alteration since the sample under 3-minute bleaching presented a greater
tendency for green and greater firmness. For the sensory analysis, no significant difference
related to sensory scoring was noticed; in relation to mode value, we concluded that the 6-
minute sample was more preferable, though. For titratable total acidity and soluble solids analyses, no
significant differences between the samples was noticed, considering that both parameters
were within the standard when compared to other literature. We concluded that heat
treatment influenced only the texture and color intensity and the preserved product showed good
acceptability.