Abstract

Baby corn is a popular vegetable in Vietnam. The demand for baby corn is rapidly increasing day by day. There is a great demand of baby corn in international market mainly because of its freshness, taste, nutrition, free from pesticides and its multiuse. It is usually used for fresh consumption. During the baby corn havesting season, excessive supply of the fruit causes the price of baby corn decreasing dramatically. Baby corn is a highly perishable produce because of its high respiration rate. An inexpensive way to extend shelf life is the use of modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) in combination with low temperature. Therefore, we have tried to add value to the baby corn. One method of adding value to fresh baby corn is processing it into drink. We carried out the investigation of extraction (ratio of water: baby corn, temperature and time of blanching); juicy mixture and preservation. This research was conducted from 2017 to 2018 in the scientific laboratory of Soc Trang Health Department. Our results showed that the baby corn drink had the best quality when extracting with water: baby corn ratio (70: 30) at 95°C in 2 min. The sample was then cooled to 37°C before the addition of glucoamylase enzyme at 0.07%. The milk was then incubated in a water bath at 37°C in 60 min. After the incubation process, the milk was heated in a water bath at 95°C for 2 min to inactivate all enzymes present. The hydrolyzed baby corn milk will be formulated with sugar 3.0%, citric acid 0.5% and carrageenan 0.6%. Baby corn drink shelf-life could be maintained for 12 months.