Cashew apple is considered as one of the potential raw materials with many applications in a variety of fields, such as medicine, food technology, animal feed, dry alcohol and cashew vinegar. The cashew apple itself is very high in nutritional content and if properly exploited, it will produce many products that are good for human health. Cashew apple syrup and concentrated cashew apple juice are two of the remarkable uses of this fruit.
Cashew apple syrup
Acidity of cashew apples are removed by steaming at a pressure of 2 - 4 kg for 5 - 10 minutes, then thoroughly washed with water and pressed to extract the juice. Next, add 6 - 7% of lemon juice and stir well for 15 minutes. Then, the precipitate is filtered off. Filtered juice is added a suitable amount of sugar to bring the juice to a concentration of 35 degrees B and bring it to a boil quickly, keep it at boiling point for 1 minute, then cool it quickly, add SO2 preservative (350 ppm) and bottle it (Jain et al., 1952). When used, this cashew apple syrup is diluted as required. It can also be used to make carbonated beverages.
Some drinks are made from cashew apple juice:
Cashola: The clear cashew juice has been treated to an acid concentration of 0.4% and 29 degrees B. A delicious carbonated drink is created when diluting this treated juice with 3 volumes of water (Anon, 1970).
Cajuada: A very popular drink in South Brazil (Johnson, 1977) with the main ingredient being the juice of cashews, milk or water, and sugar.
Cajuina: A less common non-alcoholic beverage made from purified and pasteurized cashew apple juice.
Cajuvita: A beverage made from the juice of cashew apples with added vitamins.
Caju aperativo: A beverage made from the juice of cashews mixed with sugar cane alcohol.
Image - Cashew apple syrup products sold on Amazon
Concentrated cashew apple juice
Cloudy cashew apple juice and clear cashew apple juice both produce good quality concentrated products when concentrated at a temperature of 50 - 55 degrees Celsius under vacuum. These products are used for the production of carbonated beverages (Jain et al, 1954). Cashew apple juice can be concentrated to a concentration of 30 - 35 degrees B, while clear cashew apple juice can be concentrated up to a concentration of 65 - 70 degrees B.
When using natural circulating evaporator, forced circulation evaporator and falling film evaporator, Pruthi et al (1963) investigated the physical-chemical changes of concentrated cashew apple juice.
Table - Physical-chemical transformations when concentrating cashew apple juice
|
Physicochemical Properties |
Cloudy cashew apple juice |
Clarified cashew apple juice |
||
|
Before condensing |
After condensing |
Before condensing |
After condensing |
|
|
Refractive index |
12 |
77 |
9 |
71 |
|
Acid value (by Maclic) |
0.4% |
2.6% |
0.36% |
2.1% |
|
pH |
4.1 |
4 |
4.3 |
4.1 |
|
cP (Centipoise) |
20 |
182 |
20 |
450 |
|
Ascorbic Acid (Mg%) |
250 |
1432 |
192.6 |
1108 |
|
Color |
Light yellow |
Dark brown |
Light yellow |
Brown |
|
Taste |
Distinctive taste of cashews |
Slightly distinctive taste of cashews |
Distinctive taste of cashews |
Slightly distinctive taste of cashews |
(CFTRI, 1962) cited by Ngo Tuan Ky
Tannin has been removed from 2-stage vacuum concentration juice. SO2 is added to the concentration of 100 ppm in the second stage. Thus, the concentrated product still retains good quality after 16 weeks of storage at room temperature.
Satyavathi et al (1963) processed golden syrup from cashew apple juice by filtering like the filtration process of sugar.
Firstly, use calcium oxide to adjust the pH of the juice to 7.4, then heat the juice to 195 degrees F (90.55 degrees C) and let it settle.
Next, take the clear juice out by Siphon method, adjust the pH of the translucent juice with phosphoric or citric acid to 6.
Then, proceed to vacuum concentration in a forced circulation evaporator. The obtained syrup concentrate has a golden color, a light taste, and contains 400 - 500 mg of ascorbic acid.
Compared to commercial yellow syrup, this syrup has better clarity and nutrition. Its color is also more brownish. When diluted to 15 degrees B, its color changes in an eye-catching way. This syrup blends well with ginger juice and lemon juice. In addition, cashew apple juice is made into clear juice with gelatin, then concentrated in a forced circulation evaporator and added to SO2. The resulting product contains 600-800 mg of ascorbic acid and also mixes well with ginger juice.
A consumer judged the quality of concentrated cashew apple juice as follows:
Specification:
The viscous product is golden yellow, free from impurities, pasteurized and chilled, with no added sugar, no fermentation and no alcohol. Has a characteristic taste of cashew fruit (Anacardium occidentale L.) without foreign materials.
The physic-chemical properties:
|
Specification |
Levelness |
Test method |
|
1. Dissolved solids (Brix) |
35 - 37 |
021 BR-BEV 00038 |
|
2. Citric acid (%) |
0.5 - 0.9 |
021 BR-BEV 00040 |
|
3. Fruit flesh (%) |
30 - 35 |
021 BR-BEV 00042 |
|
4.SO2 sums (ppm) |
570 - 630 |
021 BR-BEV 00050 |
|
5. Benzoic acid (ppm) |
1200 - 1400 |
021 BR-BEV 00049 |
Microbiological characteristics:
|
Specification |
Levelness |
Test method |
|
1. Total plates count |
1000 max |
031 BR-BEV 00014 |
|
2. Yeasts and Molds(UFC/ml) |
not present in 1 ml |
031 BR-BEV 00040 |
|
3. Faccal Coliforms (MNF/G) |
not present in 1 gram |
031 BR-DES 00027 |
Packaging:
Seal in plastic bags and place in barrels (first-time containers) and label on each barrel. The label states production batch number, net weight, effective date, and other storage instructions.
Other conditions:
The barrels containing concentrated cashew apple juice must be stored at a temperature of less than 15 degrees Celsius and their shelf life is 1 year.
REFERENCE:
Thanh P. D. (2003). Cashew Nuts - Production and Processing.
