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Stevia was evaluated for its effect on chemical, microbiological, and sensory properties of rasgulla during room temperature and refrigerated storage. Rasgullas were prepared by incorporating defatted soy flour as binding material with different level of stevia in cooking and soaking syrups. Five different rasgulla samples were prepared by taking different sugar to stevia ratio in syrups along with control sample prepared from 100:0 (CR). All samples were stored at room and refrigerated temperatures for 6 and 30 days, respectively. Chemical changes were analyzed for pH, acidity of syrup, free fatty acid (FFA) content of rasgulla samples, and microbiological load of rasgulla samples at each 3rd and 5th day of storage at room and refrigerated temperatures, respectively. The stevia level showed significant protection against formation of FFA and acidity development. Microbiological loads were lesser in count at refrigerated temperature than that at room temperature at high level of stevia. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Rasgulla is a traditional dairy product enriched in nutrients. The demand of rasgulla is increasing because of its taste and distinct texture, but a major limitation is its perishable nature. To increase the shelf life of rasgulla, reformation of rasgulla has become a need. Stevia is a non‐nutritive sweetener and an antioxidant. Incorporation of stevia along with sugar at a different level in cooking and soaking syrups of rasgulla makes good dairy product for health‐conscious and diabetic persons. Besides, antioxidant activity (because of trolox and gallic acids) of stevia enhances the shelf life of the product. Study on the effect of stevia level on chemical, microbiological, and sensory properties of rasgulla during different storage periods at room temperature and refrigerated storage is an attempt to establish the new dairy product.

The postharvest quality of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) cv. Bombay stored under controlled atmosphere (CA) at 3.5% O2and 3.5% CO2, 2C temperature and 92–95% relative humidity was studied. Fruits were also held in regular atmosphere (RA) maintained at 2C temperature and 92–95% relative humidity. Fruits kept at normal ambient conditions were used as controls. Various quality attributes measured revealed that fruits stored in CA exhibited Hunter “a” values of 11.2 after 56 days of storage, indicating the beneficial effect of CA on retaining the red color of litchi fruits. Fruits held in RA exhibited Hunter “a” values (7.9) lower than that of CA-stored litchi, showing that browning of litchi was noticeable in RA. Loss of weight was lowest (4.9%) for the fruits stored in CA compared to those stored in RA (11.0%) and control (33.1%). Loss of acidity and ascorbic acid content of fruits stored in CA were less than that of RA. The smallest increase of litchi firmness and pericarp puncture strength of 2.2 and 3.9 times of initial level, respectively, were observed even after 56 days of storage in CA. Total soluble solid of litchi increased from 19.3° Brix at harvest to 23.0° Brix until 48 days of storage in CA after which it declined to 22.8 °Brix. The sensory evaluation of aril color and taste showed that the fruits held in CA were rated good throughout 56 days of storage.

Studies on cryogenic grinding of clove were conducted to observe influence of parameters, viz., grinding temperature, rotor speed, sieve size and feed rate on sieve choking characteristics, particle size distribution, volume mean diameter, specific energy consumption and volatile oil content. It was observed that the clove could be successfully ground at temperatures below -50C without any deposition over the sieve surface. An increase in temperature in the cryogenic range (-110 to -50C) had no significant effect on volatile oil content, whereas temperatures in the range of 55 to 85C significantly reduced the volatile oil content from 11.0 to 9.3 mL/100 g. Thus, cryogenic grinding resulted in 29.5% more volatile oil in comparison to that of ambient grinding. When grinding temperature was increased from -110 to -50C, there were increases in particle size for the same cumulative volume fraction. The volume mean diameter of clove powder increased quadratically from 119 to 153 micrometer with increases in temperature from -110 to -50C at constant feed rate of 1.5 kg/h, rotor speed of 69 m/s and sieve opening size of 0.5 mm. It increased quadratically from 119 to 140 micrometer with increase in feed rate from 1.5 to 6 kg/h with the grinding temperature constant at -110C. The specific energy consumption during grinding increased quadratically from 62 to 81 kJ/kg with increases in grinding temperature from -110 to -50C at a typical feed rate of 1.5 kg/h, rotor speed of 69 m/s and sieve size of 0.5 mm. The specific energy consumption increased quadratically from 62 to 85 kJ/kg with the increase in feed rate from 1.5 to 6 kg/h with constant grinding temperature of -110C, rotor speed of 69 m/s and sieve opening size of 0.5 mm.