CHAPTER IINTRODUCTION

A. Background of the StudyIf you enjoy growing fresh vegetables in your garden, you may end

up with an excess of produce. One way to preserve and store the

vegetables before they decay is to turn them into a dried vegetable

powder. With this powder, we can use it for preparing various foods. In

this study, the researchers will use squash as the main material in the

experiment. The plants are believed to have originated in South America,

but their cultivation had spread throughout the Americas by the time the

first Europeans arrived. (Grolier, 1995)

Squash, most commonly known as “calabaza” here in the

Philippines, have healthy benefits in our body. It is often used in cooking

dishes, salads and it is one of the most loved vegetable for kids.

B. Statement of the ProblemThis study would produce and evaluate powder that can be used

for various food preparations using raw squash.

Sub-Problems:

1) What are the characteristics of the uncooked and cooked

squash powder in terms of:

a. Color

b. Texture

c. Aroma?

2) Is there a significant difference on the characteristic of the

uncooked and cooked squash with squash powder in terms of

color, texture and aroma?

3) Which food preparation is more suitable for the squash powder

in terms of palatability:

a. Baking

b. Steaming?

4) Is there a significant difference of the palatability of raw squash

and squash powder for each food preparation?

5) What other food preparation that can be easily done using

squash powder rather than squash in its pure form?

6) Which preservative is better in terms of shelf-life for the squash

powder?

a. Salt

b. Sugar

7) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the squash

powder?

C. Hypotheses1) There is no significant difference on the characteristic of the

uncooked and cooked squash with squash powder in terms of

color, texture and aroma.

2) There is no significant difference of the palatability of raw

squash and squash powder for each food preparation.

D. Objectives of the StudyThis study aims to produce a powder that can be used for some

food preparations by using the squash as the main material. It also aims to

distinguish which food preparation is more suitable for the squash powder

in terms of palatability, and also aims to determine which preservative is

better in terms of shelf-life for the product.

E. Significance of the StudySquash is a rich source of vitamin A. It also contains vitamin B and

C, which helps boosting the immune system and prevents colds. It also

has calcium, phosphorous, fiber which lowers rates of heart diseases, and

carotene, which also prevents cancer, and lung and heart diseases.

Farmers can benefit from this study. The framers can make a

business out from it. Moms, too, can also benefit from it. They would not

be bothered forcing their children in eating their “veggies”, because their

children will not notice that they are already eating vegetables which they

hate.

F. Scope and LimitationsAdding squash powder to various food preparations is limited only

in this study. The future researchers will produce squash powder; evaluate

its characteristics using Score Card and the Hedonic Scale. If this is

acceptable, then squash powder will be used to determine which food

preparation is more suitable for it in terms of palatability.

G. Definition of Terms

Aroma It is the scent referring to the pleasant odor of the

food.

Baking It is the technique of cooking food by dry heating;

used for the preparation of making cake, bread, etc.

Color It is a physical characteristic of the test subject and/or

the finished product.

Palatability It is the quality of being pleasant to the taste.

Powder form It is the resulting form of the experimented test

subject.

Preservation It is a method of storing raw or fresh food to avoid

spoilage by using preservatives.

Preservatives Like sugar and salt, these are used to preserve the

food or the powder to avoid spoiling of the product.

Pulverization It is the process where the test subject will be reduced

to fine powder form either by cooking its juice extract

or by grinding.

Pure form It is the original form or structure of the product.

Shelf-life It is the length of time that the product is given before

it is considered unsuitable for use or consumption.

Squash It is a vine gourd family of the genus Cucurbita,

resembling the pumpkin in its edible fleshy fruit

(Webster, 1983). This is the test subject in this study.

Texture It is a physical characteristic of the test subject and/or

the product; It is the feel of the structure.

CHAPTER IIREVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND RELATED STUDIES

Vegetable powders are used to “tuck more nutrition and flavor into the

things people cook” (Willson, n.d.). These days some vegetables and other fruits

– mostly spices – like tomato, chili, pepper, and onion, are made into powder for

easy use. Vegetable powder can be added to juices or as a base for soups to

make it more nutritious (Sundstrom, 2011). It provides value-added thickening for

soups (Willson, n.d.). For example, squash.

Different Kinds of Squash

Squash (Cucurbita spp.), also known as calabaza or pumpkin, from the

Cucurbitaceae family, is a genus of gourd plants grown for their fruit. It is related

to the family of melons and cucumbers (O’Brien, 2009). It is a cool-to-moderate-

weather root vegetable with long, lacy leaves reaching about 0.3m (1ft) in height

(Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, 2002). It is a very good source of vitamins A

and C, calcium and iron. It has very low calories (Nutritional Value of Squash |

Healthy Living Tips, 2009). It is also rich in fiber, which lowers rates heart

diseases, and protects from colon cancer by working to get rid the body of

harmful substances (O’Brien, 2009). Due to its healthy benefits, the future

researchers are determined to produce squash powder out of raw squash for

easy use. To make this powder last longer, preservatives are added,

Preservatives are substances used or added to products to preserve or

avoid spoiling of food. They are also called additives. There are available

chemical preservatives, but natural preservatives are commonly used. Common

food preservatives are salt, sugar and vinegar. The researchers will be using salt

and sugar as their food preservatives.

Salt has been used as a natural food preservative since ancient times,

especially for meat. Salted meat can last for many years. The phenomenon

behind adding salt as a preservative is that it dehydrates microbes through the

process of osmosis. Thus, it inhibits the bacteria that cause food spoilage. Salt

also protects food from yeasts and molds. It increases the “shelf-life” of various

food stuffs.

Sugar, an organic compound in the form of carbohydrate, has been used

as a natural food preservative in many of the food items. Sugar sweetens the

food product and inhibits the growth of microorganisms through the phenomenon

of osmosis. Foods can be stored either in sugar syrup or in crystallized form,

where the food to be stored is cooked in sugar till the point of crystallization.

Sugar acts by drawing out water from the bacteria and other microorganisms,

which either kills the bacteria or inhibits their growth.

Preserving food is accomplished by controlling and where possible the

agents of food spoilage are destroyed, in other words, it is a method of storing

raw and cooked food for a very long time by using food preservatives. Since the

ancient times, people have been using a number of natural products to preserve

their foods. But before using the advent of preservatives, food was commonly

stored inside clay jars to avoid food spoilage. The earliest preservative that was

used was salt, during the Middle Ages.

Many processes designed to preserve food will involve a number of food

preservation methods. Preserving fruit, by turning it into jam, for example,

involves boiling (to reduce the fruit’s moisture content and to kill the bacteria,

yeasts.atc.), sugaring (to prevent their re-growth; examples are fruit juices and

condensed milk) and sealing with an airtight jar (to prevent recontamination).

(Food Preservation, n.d.)

Other ways include freezing. Foods which spoil readily are frozen for

transportation, and must be kept packed in ice until used (examples: fish and

poultry). Smoking is the method where some foods after being salted are hung in

a closed room for several hours, where hickory wood is allowed to smother.

Examples are ham, beef, and fish. Preserving by oil, examples; sardines,

anchovies, etc; Pickling, exclusion of air, canning, drying and vacuum treatment

are also ways to preserve food. (Farmer, 1918)

A study was conducted on pulverizing a vegetable for convenience.

Jubelag’s (2008) study entitled “Carrot (Daucus Carota) Powder for Various Food

Preparation”, aimed to make carrots in powdered form for convenience in

cooking and the younger ones who does not like eating it, not to notice that they

are already taking in carrots, which is a very healthy vegetable. The researcher

has produced the carrot powder with table sugar as its preservative, but was not

able to make the carrot powder using table salt. It is recommended in this study

to find a way for the powder not to affect the food’s taste, color and odor, and to

find out the exact amount of preservative, to be added to a given volume of the

vegetable’s extract that is to be powdered.

Previous studies were made and used different vegetables in making into

powder form. From the study above, after producing the carrot powder, the

researcher just randomly added the powder to some available food, like ice

cream, and just taste to see if the powder is suitable in terms of palatability. The

future researchers modify some method for various food preparation, such as

baking and steaming, to see if which food preparation is more suitable for the

powder in terms of palatability.

CHAPTER IIIMETHODOLOGY

A. Research DesignThis research aims to determine the suitability or the acceptability

of squash in the form of powder for various food preparations. The

research employs experimental research design to develop squash

powder. Trial and error will be done to arrive to an acceptable product.

B. Materials and Equipments

C. Experimental Set-Up

Legend: A – Squash Powder only

B – Raw squash only

Materials Equipments Ingredients Knife (2 pcs) meat grinder (1 pc) Raw squash Peeler (1 pc) table salt Grater (1 pc) table sugar

C – Squash powder with Salt

D – Squash powder with Sugar

Table C1. Rate Table for testing the Shelf-life of the squash products

Squash Characteristics  Color Aroma TextureA      B      C      D      

Legend: A – Ginataang Squash

B – Cake

C – Puto

Table C2. Rate Table for Testing the Characteristics of each FoodPreparation

Food Addition of

  Raw Squash Powdered Squash

  Color Aroma Texture Taste Color Aroma Texture Taste

A                

B                

C                

D. General Procedure

Preparation of Raw Squash

Ten or more squashes in different sizes that are fresh, clean and

mature will be gathered. It will be washed, peeled, sliced in cubes and

grated.

Pulverization ProcessThe grated squash will now be air-dried, with the preservatives

added, which will remove the water from the grated squash. It will then be

grinded using a grinder, to produce the squash powder.

E. Product DevelopmentTrials will be conducted after each trial to achieve a desired

product. The research adviser will evaluate the product and give her

suggestions for the improvement and enhancement of the product of the

research for each trial. Trials will end until an acceptable product will be

achieved base on the evaluation of the research adviser.

F. Sampling DesignThe researchers will use Random Sampling by identifying panel of

evaluators using the Fishbowl Technique. The names of the IDS Junior

students will be written on a piece of paper, rolled and placed in a bowl.

Thirty names will be drawn to evaluate the product of the researchers

using the Score Card for the characteristics and the Hedonic Scale for

acceptability.

G. Instruments in Data GatheringThe instruments that will be used in data gathering are the Score

Card and the Hedonic Scale. The Score Card is for sensory evaluation of

the evaluators; while the Hedonic Scale is for measuring the acceptance

for the valuators as shown in the tables below.

Table G1. Score Card Scale for the Characteristics of the Squash Powder

RatingDescription

Color Texture Aroma

5 Brilliant Coffee like Pleasant

4 Slightly Brilliant Slightly Coffee Like Slightly Pleasant

3 Average Average Average

2 Slightly not Brilliant Slightly not Coffee Like

Slightly not Pleasant

1 Not Brilliant Not Coffee Like Not Pleasant

Table G2. Hedonic Scale for the Acceptability

Rating General Acceptability9 Like Extremely8 Like Very Much7 Like Moderately6 Like Slightly5 Neither Like Nor Dislike4 Dislike Slightly3 Dislike Moderately2 Dislike Very Much1 Dislike Extremely

H. Product Evaluation

The panel of evaluator will be given the Score Card and Hedonic

Scale to evaluate the different samples of squash powder prepared in

various ways. The evaluators will rate the desirable characteristics of

each sample product by using numerical rating from 1 – 5, where 5 is the

highest and 1 is the lowest. Specific descriptions per characteristics were

laid out in Table G1 and G2 for easy evaluation and minimize biases.

The general/overall acceptability of the samples of squash powder

will be rated using Hedonic Scale. The evaluators will rate the samples

from 1 – 9 were 1 corresponds to “dislike extremely” which means least

accepted and 9 corresponds to “like extremely” which means the most

accepted product as shown in Table G2.

I. Statistical Tools for Data Analysis

The data that will be gathered will be analyzed and interpreted to

get the overall rating of the product. The weighted mean will be employed

to find the characteristics and acceptability of the different samples of

squash powder. Friedman test or Kruskal-Wallis H Test will be used in

order to know if there is a significant difference among samples.

Mean

X=w i x iN

Where:

xi = weighted mean

wi = frequency

N = total number of respondents

X = responses

= Sum of all weighted mean

For interpretation of results, the following tables below will serve as a guide.

Score Card and Hedonic Scale Interpretation

Table I1. Score Card Interpretation Guide

Mean Rating

General Interpretation

Description

Color Texture Odor

4.20 - 5.00 Excellent Yellow Very Smooth Very Pleasant

3.40 - 4.19 Very good Yellowish Smooth Pleasant

2.60 - 3.39 Good Light Brown Slightly Smooth

Moderately Pleasant

1.80 - 2.59 Satisfactory Brown/Brownish Rough Unpleasant

1.00 - 1.79 Poor Dark Brown Very Rough Very Unpleasant

Table I2. Hedonic Scale Interpretation Guide

Mean Rating General Acceptability

8.12 - 9.00 Like Extremely

7.23 - 8.11 Like Very Much

6.34 - 7.22 Like Moderately

5.45 - 6.33 Like Slightly

4.56 - 5.44 Neither Like Nor Dislike

3.67 - 4.55 Dislike Slightly

2.78 - 3.66 Dislike Moderately

1.89 - 2.77 Dislike Very Much

1.00 - 1.88 Dislike Extremely

Collection and Preparation of Materials

Figure I3. Flowchart of the Experimental Procedure

Washing and peeling of Raw Squash

Grating of raw squash

Adding of Preservatives

Air-dry

Grinding Process

Finished Product:

Squash Powder