Optimizing the Formulation and Processing Conditions of Gulab Jamun: A Statistical Design

Increasing demand for the traditional dairy products presents immense opportunity for the organized dairies in India to modernize and scale-up their production. The objective of the present study was to use L 25 orthogonal array to predict the quality of gulab jamun -an indigenous product, and optimizing the processing conditions. Gulab jamun was prepared by frying balls made by kneading a heat-dessicated intermediary milk product (khoa), refined wheat flour (maida), baking powder and water, in butter oil (ghee) and dipping in sugar syrup. Optimization of the formulation was carried out in terms of khoa:maida ratio (70:30-90:10), level of baking powder (0.2-1% of the khoa:maida mixture), frying time (7-11 min), sugar syrup concentration (50-70° Brix), temperature of sugar syrup (30-70°C) and soaking time (2-10 h). These parameters were evaluated in terms of weight change and volume expansion on frying and soaking, and porosity. Instrumental texture profile analysis (TPA) of gulab jamun at different stages (raw, fried, and soaked) was measured via TAXT2i Texture Analyzer. The sensory acceptability of soaked gulab jamun was evaluated by a panel of judges using 9-point hedonic scale and statistically analyzed. The overall acceptability of the gulab jamun sample had an edge over the market sample.