Introduction: Fruit cordial is a clear liquid.

It is a sparkling, clean, sweetened fruit juice fromwhich all the pulp and other suspended materials have been completely eliminated(Vaidya et al. 2000). It is a fruit juice which needs or needs not to be diluted before itis drunk. In processing of the cordial, normally sugar and citric acid are added toincrease the total soluble solids and also Brix value (Desai, 2000). According to FruitProduct Order Specifications, a minimum percentage of 30% total soluble solids aswell as a minimum of 25% of fruit juice must be reached at the final product.Most of the beverage industry accounts for 80% of the production of fruit juicesand concentrates. In market, there are miscellaneous fruit cordials available for purchase, namely roxelle cordial, orange cordial, lycee cordial and others. The pineapple cordial has a good quality of nutritional values, where vitamins, minerals,fiber and enzymes are available for a good digestive system and helps in maintainingideal weight and balanced nutrition. Pineapple cordial is a good source of Vitamin Cand minimal fat and sodium with no-cholesterol. Based on the health aspect, experts believe that it also contains micro-nutrients that protects against cancer. With the properties of the micronutrients, the blood clots can be broken down and it imparts beneficial health to the heart. Pineapple juices in the cordial can also kill intestinalworms other than relieving intestinal disorders and soothing the bile. In kidney, pineapple juice aids in removing toxic elements in the body with the presence of somechemicals. Hence, pineapple cordials should be produced widely and education on the benefits of pineapple cordial should be done to raise the awareness of consumerstowards its benefits.In this experiment, the processing of pineapple cordial was carried out. The unitoperations, starting from cutting, washing, pulping juice extraction, processing and packaging were learnt. This experiment was done to understand the processing of the pineapples cordial from the raw materials. Each of the steps was focused and extraingredients such as pectin, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), Xanthum gum andsucrose were added to ensure the quality of end product. In this experiment, the effectof addition of different hydrocolloids mentioned beforehand was also studied. Thefunctions of each step of the processing and also the use of different ingredients werestudied to ensure better sensory characteristics, more stable shelf life and also thehigher quality of nutritional values of the cordial.

filled into the containers to destroy the heat sensitive microorganisms present in thecontainers, the efficiency of the destruction of molds (thermophile) will not be highenough since the temperature of the cordials are not high enough. Besides, duringfilling process, there was presence of some air which contained spores of molds andwas flown into the containers and therefore the spores generated and caused spoilageof the cordials. The contaminations that caused spoilage of cordials could occur easilysince the whole process of cordials production was not done in aseptic condition.Seventhly, in the viscosity measurement of the three types of cordials, ageneral trend was observed where the viscosity of the cordials decreased on the firstweek of observation and increased continually on the following 2 weeks. Theviscosity changes were due to several factors including concentration, temperatureandshear strain ratein a complex manner and also dependent on the hydrocolloid(s)and other materials present; the mixtures of hydrocolloids may act synergically toincrease viscosity or antagonistically to reduce it. Among the three types of cordials,the pineapple cordial with added CMC always showed the highest value of viscosityeven the amount of hydrocolloid added in each of the cordial is the same. Thisindicated that the thickening, stabilizing, and gelling quality of CMC was better thanthe others where it had better water holding capacity thus caused higher viscosity tothe cordial. In the view of food manufacturer, CMC was more economical in the production of cordial since lower amount (indicates lower cost) was needed to obtainthe same desired viscosity and also quality as well.As discussed above, many potential errors could occur throughout thisexperiment causing inaccuracy, low percentage of yield, wastage, and wronghandling. Therefore, in order to avoid these errors, some precaution steps must betaken as followed:1.Make sure the weighing balances and pH meters are calibrated before usingthem so that accurate readings can be obtained.2.In the cutting process, make sure no wastage occur especially during removingof the pineapple core so that the percentage of yield can be maximized.

3.Make sure the pineapple is homogenized completely using the grinder so thataccurate pH can be obtained.4.Make sure that all of the pineapple puree is taken after the grinding process sothat maximum percentage of yield can be obtained.5.Make sure that the Brix meter is used correctly (the window of the Brix meter is dried completely to avoid dilution, the sample fully cover the window of theBrix meter and facing bright or lighted area when taking the readings) to avoidfalse results.6.Make sure right proportions of ingredients are added so that accurate resultscan be obtained.7.In pasteurization process, make sure the temperature of pasteurization (88 o

C)is maintained for 1 minute by adjusting the amount of heat so that over- pasteurization can be avoided.8.Make sure the cordial produced is hot-filled into the containers so that the heatsensitive microorganisms present in the containers can be destroyed andvacuum can be developed when the cordial cooled down.9.Make sure the lids of the containers are completely covered to avoidundesirable spoilage during storage at room temperature.10.Make sure the appearance and viscosity of the stored cordials are checkedevery week and record the findings Conclusion: Many types of hydrocolloids can be added in the production of pineapple or other fruits cordials. However, different types of hydrocolloids may exert different effects

on the end product especially percentage of yield of the end product, o Brix value, pH,viscosity, and also the storage characteristics. Therefore, the most suitablehydrocolloid should be chose and studied before added in the cordial to obtain the best and desired quality of the end product as well as considering the economicalfactors. This experiment indicated CMC is more suitable to be used in pineapplecordial than pectin and xanthan gum in all aspects. References: 1.Desai, B.B. (2000). Food of Plant Origin. In handbook of Nutrition and Diet. pp. 231. Florida: CRC Press.2.http://www.brainyquote.com/words/be/beverage136434.html(accessed date:21 st August 2008)3.http://www.thefreedictionary.com/beverage(accessed date: 21 st August 2008)4.http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O39-cellulosederivatives.html(accesseddate: 25 th August 2008)5.P J Fellows. (2000). Food Processing Technology: Principles and Practice ,Second Edition (pp. 241). Woodhead Publishing Limited.6.Vaidya, D. and Vaidya, M. (2000).Fruit Juices and Juice Beverages. InVerma, L.R. and Joshi, V.K. Postharvest Technology og Fruits andVegetables. pp. 708. India: Indus Publishing