Mate is a multipurpose species, it has several uses such as ancestral, food, medicinal and ornamental use.
It is a fruit with great potential for use, easy propagation, capacity to grow in various regions, for all these advantages this crop represents an opportunity for expansion in the market.
On the other hand, the interest in this mate fruit from the artisanal point of view has led to it being used to make crafts such as bowls, spoons, among others; however, the pulp of this fruit is wasted and not used, hence the interest in evaluating the characteristics it has and at the same time proposing alternatives for transformation and industrialization.
What are the benefits of mate fruit pulp?
The fruit pulp with the crushed seed contains 12.5% Protein, 14.8% Fat, 2% Ash, 0.4% Phosphorus, 2.30% Potassium, 0.18% Magnesium and 0.4% Calcium. While the raw fruit pulp contains organic acids (hydrocyanic, citric, tartaric) and generally in the fruit the presence of alkaloids and polyphenol can be found.
The Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Pamplon carried out research and used the pulp of mate (Crescentia cujete L) for the development and characterization of jam.
Four types of jams were produced based on pulp and pieces of the mate fruit, sweetened with sugar and sucralose.
The results showed that the fruit (pulp or pieces)-sweetener (sugar or sucralose) ratio influences the physical-chemical, sensory, microbiological and rheological properties of the jams.
The physical-chemical analysis established that it is an acidic fruit (pH 4.6; 0.22% acidity), with 6.4 degrees Brix and 82.4% humidity. The acid representative of the fruit corresponds to citric acid. The sensory evaluation showed that the formulation made with pulp and with the addition of sucralose was the one that showed the best acceptability.
The jams presented performance indices with values less than one (n<1). The nutritional content evaluation showed 94.29% humidity, 0.53% protein, 0.64% fat, 3.20% fiber, 0.22% ash, 1.12% carbohydrates and 12.37 kcal. Furthermore, the shelf life was estimated by evaluating mesophilic aerobes, total coliforms, molds and yeasts.
Mate Fruit Jam
From the mate fruit, it was possible to develop jams sweetened with sugar and sucralose. The characterization of the physicochemical, rheological, microbiological and sensory properties showed promising results regarding the development of this type of products based on fruits that are not normally used.
The sensory analysis allowed determining that the treatments with the addition of sucralose obtained a higher average in acceptability compared to their counterparts developed with sugar. The estimated shelf life in real time for the treatments was four months, during which the absence of mesophilic aerobes, coliforms, molds and yeasts was noted.
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