Asian Journal of Dairy and Food Research, volume 41 issue 4 (december 2022) : 500-503

Effect of Conditioning Methods on Mechanical Properties of Raw Bael Fruit

Indrajeet Sahu, Kalpana Rayaguru, Rashmi Ranjan Pattnaik, Sanjaya Kumar Dash
1Department of Agricultural Processing and Food Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar-751 003, Odisha, India.
Cite article:- Sahu Indrajeet, Rayaguru Kalpana, Pattnaik Ranjan Rashmi, Dash Kumar Sanjaya (2022). Effect of Conditioning Methods on Mechanical Properties of Raw Bael Fruit. Asian Journal of Dairy and Food Research. 41(4): 500-503. doi: 10.18805/ajdfr.DR-1788.

Background: Bael is an important indigenous fruit, which is rich in nutritional and health promoting factors. Development of value-added products from this fruit poses a problem as the fruit has a hard rind and is difficult to be removed by hand. 
Methods: The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of different conditioning methods as normal water dipping (25-27°C), chilling (10-11°C), freezing (4-5°C) and hot water dipping (90-95°C) on firmness and other mechanical properties of raw and matured bael fruit, with a goal of devising some methods for easy removal of the rind. The fruits after conditioning were subjected to puncture test by universal testing machine. Distinct peaks were observed on the force-displacement traces which indicated the rupture force and firmness of the fruits. The changes observed in rupture force, deformation and firmness in conditioned samples were compared.
Result: Rupture force measured for control sample (kept under ambient conditions) was 344.4±27.13 N and was found to be lower than that of the conditioned samples. The minimum rupture force of 192.6±14.41 N was observed in frozen sample. No significant difference in rupture force could be observed between the normal water dipped sample and chilled samples. Hot water dipped sample required a rupture force of 215.3±29.2 N, which was not significantly (p>0.05) less than those of other treatments but, the green color of the fruits degraded to brown. The change in other mechanical properties also remained similar. The results would be useful for preparing the raw bael fruit for further processing and value addition.


  1. Annual Statistical Report of NHB (2015-2016). Indian Production of Bael.

  2. Baliga, M.S., Bhat, H.P., Joseph, N. and Fazal, F. (2011). Phytochemistry and medicinal uses of the bael fruit (Aegle marmelos Correa): A concise review. Food Research International. 44: 1768-1775.

  3. Bhardwaj, R.L. and Nandal, U. (2015). Nutritional and therapeutic potential of bael (Aegle marmelos Corr.) fruit juice: A review. Nutrition and Food Science. 45(6): 895-919. 

  4. Goyal, R.K., Kingsly, A.R.P., Kumar, P. and Walia, H. (2007). Physical and mechanical properties of aonla fruits. Journal of food Engineering. 82: 595-599.

  5. Hussein, Z., Fawole, O.A. and Opara, U.L. (2019). Harvest and Postharvest Factors Affecting Bruise Damage of Fresh Fruits. Horticultural Plant Journal. 167(5): 1-28.

  6. Kaur, A. and Kalia, M. (2017). Physico chemical analysis of bael (Aegle marmelos) fruit pulp, seed and pericarp. Chemical Science Review and Letters. 6(22): 1213-1218.

  7. Korkut, S. and Hiziroglu, S. (2009). Effect of heat treatment on mechanical properties of hazelnut wood (Corylus colurna L.). Materials and Design. 30(5): 1853-1858.

  8. Lakht-e-Zehra, Asadullah, Dar, N.G., Saleem, N., Soomro, U.A., Afzal, W., Naqvi, B. and Jamil, K. (2015). Nutritional exploration of leaves, seed and fruit of bael (Aegle marmelos L.) grown in Karachi region. Pakistan Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 48(3): 61-65.

  9. Rayaguru, K., Sahoo, N.R. and Khan, Md.K. (2008). Effect of storage on quality of raw stone apple ready-to-serve beverage. Journal of Agricultural Engineering. 45(1): 62-67.

  10. Singh, A., Sharma, H.K., Kaushal, P. and Upadhyay, A. (2014). Bael (Aegle marmelos Correa) products processing: A review. African Journal of Food Science. 8(5): 204-215.

  11. Sonawane, A., Pathak, S.S. and Pradhan, R.C. (2020). Physical, thermal and mechanical properties of bael fruit. Journal of Food Process Engineering. 43(6): 1-9.

  12. Yadav, N., Singh, P. and Mehrotra, R. (2011). Determination of some ethnomedicinally important constituents of Aegle marmelos fruit during different stages of ripening. Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines. 9(2): 204-209.

Editorial Board

View all (0)