Development and Quality Evaluation of Candies made from Ugandan Honey

Abstract

Honey is a natural organic substance that is produced from the nectar of flowers or from living parts of the plants by Apis mellifera, and is a sweet, flavorful liquid. The taste and scent are strongly influenced by the type of flower where the nectar is collected. Honey candy refers to number of sweet confections that use honey as one of the primary ingredients. Honey was purchased from The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organization (TUNADO). Fresh Oranges were purchased from Nakasero Market, Kampala, they were washed, peeled and squeezed to extract orange juice, which was used as the flavor in the honey candies. Different formulations of honey candies were produced varying the orange juice concentration as flavor, that is to say, 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% of orange juice. The production of honey candies involved heating the honey and the ingredients to 135°C, molded in the silicone candy molds and cooled to 4°C, then packaged in the wax paper and stored at refrigeration temperatures for sensory and chemical analysis. Proximate analysis was done on moisture, Carbohydrate, ash, crude fat, crude fiber and crude protein content, using analytical methods. All the four formulations of the honey candies were preferred by the 25 panelists, and there was no significant difference in the aroma, mouth feel, flavor and overall acceptability among the four formulations. There was a significant difference in the general appearance, color and taste acceptance among the four formulations. The 20% orange juice formulation was preferred by panelists basing on taste preferences and the general comments given by panelists. The proximate composition of the selected 30% orange juice honey candy formulation were, 17.3% mean moisture content, 0.0% crude fat, 0.0% crude fiber, 0.41% crude protein, 0.85% total ash content, and 81.20% total carbohydrate content. It was concluded that the formulation of mixed orange juice and honey Candy is possible to satisfy consumer taste and preferences, therefore the honey candies of acceptable sensory, and physico- chemical characteristics can be developed.