Improvised Rhododendron squash: processing effects on antioxidant composition and organoleptic attributes.

The main objective of the present investigation was to develop an improvised method for the preparation of Rhododendron squash, which otherwise had a narrow consumer's acceptability, despite being rich in antioxidants due to faulty preparation procedure and to compare the superiority of the new method over existing preparation method by examining various antioxidants and total antioxidant capacity. For the preparation of squashes in the present investigation, Rhododendron petals were heated with water at 80 °C for 20 min and left for 3-hour (or 180 min) followed by filtration and addition of sugar with or without ginger juice. Leaving Rhododendron petals with water for 3-hour at room temperature following heating facilitated maximum recovery of anthocyanin in water. Rhododendron squashes, prepared through improvised method, were compared with a Rhododendron squash collected from the market (control) for their physico-chemical characteristics, antioxidants and sensory quality attributes. The improvised Rhododendron squashes registered higher values for most of the parameters than the control.