Pumpkin belongs to cucurbitaceae family grown widely in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Pumpkins are the sources of various functional compounds such as carotenoids, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibres, etc. Therefore, an attempt was made by drying of pumpkin for production of flour and its quality evaluation during storage. Different pre-treatments were applied to pumpkin shreds to standardize the method for preparation of pumpkin flour on the basis of chemical quality. The flour prepared from the best recipe (steam blanching for 5 minutes + dipping in 750 ppm KMS solution for 10 minutes followed by dehydration in mechanical cabinet drier (60±2 for 16-18 hours) was packed in low density polyethylene (LDPE) pouches and aluminium laminated pouches (ALP) and evaluated for quality attributes at intervals of 0, 3 and 6 months at ambient temperature. The pumpkin flour can be stored for 6 months at ambient temperature in LDPE as well as ALP with minimal changes in quality attributes. However, ALP was found to be comparatively better packaging material than LDPE pouches. | Standardization of recipes for preparation of pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) flour and its quality evaluation during storage
