Development and quality evaluation of pumpkin petha using pumpkin

Introduction

Pumpkin (Cucurbita spp.) is an important vegetable crop cultivated in many parts of the world. It is considered a very adaptable and productive food, rich in proteins, minerals and vitamins and used for various purposes. Pumpkin has an edible flesh that is rich in carotenoids, including β-carotene, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and phenolic compounds. The amounts of these constituents vary by species, cultivar, maturity and growing conditions (Kim et al., 2012; Batool et al., 2022) [2,1] . Pumpkin is also classified as a low-calorie vegetable, and can be used in soups, purees, beverages, bakery items, preserves and confectionery items. Although the pumpkin has been highly nutritious and is considered a valuable raw material for processing, its use in some value-added food products is underutilized, and it is often used as a fresh vegetable. The moisture content of fresh pumpkin is relatively high, leading to its easy deterioration during storage and transport. Processing technologies can be applied to increase its usefulness, reduce post-harvest losses and develop products that are more attractive to consumers. Pumpkin's physicochemical composition, such as the presence of water content and pectic substances, is suitable for products that are needed to be softened, subjected to osmotic dehydration and sugar infusion. (Dhiman et al., 2009; Adil et al., 2015) [4,3] . Petha is the traditional Indian sweet dish, which is generally made with Ash Gourd or Winter melon. It is made by adding the lime water to the cut fruit and then washing it, cooking it and soaking it in a thick sugar syrup. The lime treatment is a crucial step as calcium ions react with pectic substances in the cell wall of the plants, which helps in maintaining the firmness and structural integrity of the fruit pieces during thermal processing. It has also been reported that calcium treatment can result in better texture and stability of processed fruits and vegetables (Martin-Diana et al., 2007) [5] . The quality of petha is affected by various factors of the processing such as nature and maturity of raw material, size of product pieces, concentration of lime, processing time, concentration of sugar, conditions of cooking and the way it is packed. If the lime treatment is not adequate, it can cause a soft, fragile product; if the lime treatment is too large, it can cause the product to be too hard or rigid. Hence the need for appropriate standardization of the processing conditions is very necessary to get the petha with desirable texture, appearance, flavour and overall acceptability. Various previous studies have shown that the pH of lime, treatment time and sugar concentration have a significant effect on the sensory and physicochemical properties of petha. In investigation on angoori petha, Lime water treatment and sugar concentration had significant effect on the flavour, body and texture, colour, appearance and overall acceptability of petha. The product with intermediate lime treatment, appropriate sugar concentration and treatment time is got with high sensory acceptability (Singh et al., 2014) [6] . More recently, pumpkin petha was made using various concentrations of lime, which revealed that the intermediate concentration gave the most suitable firmness, volume retention and acceptability, while the lower and higher concentrations resulted in soft and overly firm petha, respectively (Mandal et al., 2024) [7] . The use of pumpkin provides a chance to make a nutritionally interesting and diversified product while ash gourd is used for petha preparation. The carotenoid pigments and other bioactive components in pumpkin pulp could be beneficial to the nutritional and functional properties of the product. Pumpkin petha production can also offer an alternative means of utilization of the surplus or cosmetic defective pumpkin which might not be of any great market value. Hence, the present study was conducted with the objectives of developing pumpkin petha from pumpkin and assess its quality. The effect of the lime treatment on the physical properties of the product and on the sensory acceptability of the product developed was studied.

Materials and Methods

Materials

Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) fruits were collected as fresh, mature and sound from the Zam-Zam Fruits, Pusad, Maharashtra. Fruits with no noticeable mechanical damage, decay and insect infestation were chosen for product development. Refined sugar, food grade calcium hydroxide, potable water and other ingredients were purchased from a local retail market in Warud and Pusad, Maharashtra. Concentrated sulphuric acid, sodium hydroxide, boric acid, hydrochloric acid, mixed indicator, petroleum ether and catalyst mixture were bought from Himedia and were used for proximate analysis. All Glass and apparatus were carefully cleaned and then dried. Moisture content was determined by a hot-air oven, content of ash by a muffle furnace, content of crude protein by Kjeldahl apparatus and content of crude fat by Soxhlet extraction apparatus.

Preparation of pumpkin petha

The pumpkin fruits were washed in clean running water to remove dirt and surface contaminants. The fruits were peeled using a clean stainless-steel knife, cut longitudinally and deseeded. The edible flesh was subsequently divided into equal pieces of about 3 cm. A uniform degree of puncture was applied to the pumpkin pieces with a stainless-steel fork in order to ensure adequate penetration of the lime solution and sugar syrup into the pumpkin. The pricked pieces were then placed in the food grade calcium hydroxide solution at the desired concentration(s) for 2 h. The pieces were then washed numerous times with drinking water until the remaining lime was washed off. The treated pieces of pumpkins were then cooked in hot water and placed into the cooked sugar syrup. The sugar syrup was prepared by dissolving refined sugar in potable water and boiled until a clear syrup of desired concentration was formed. Pumpkin pieces are put in the syrup and cooked until clear and desired texture is reached. The petha was left to cool down at room temperature, excess syrup was drained and the developed petha was packed in a clean and food grade packaging material for further analysis.

Experimental design

The experiment was conducted using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments, namely T 0 , T 1 , T 2 and T 3 and each treatment was prepared in four replications. Treatment T 0 was the control and pumpkin petha was prepared without any lime treatment, while the treatments T 1 , T 2 and T 3 were pumpkin petha prepared after lime treatment of the pumpkin pieces with 6%, 7% and 8% food-grade lime (calcium hydroxide), respectively. The quantity and quality of pumpkin, size of pieces, soaking time, concentration of sugar-syrup, cooking time, cooling and packaging material were standardized for all the processing conditions. The samples were prepared as petha and randomized for the developed samples and evaluated for proximate composition like moisture, crude fat, crude protein, ash, and carbohydrate by difference, appearance and colour, aroma, taste, texture, sweetness, mouthfeel and overall acceptability of the developed pumpkin petha samples.

Analysis of proximate composition

The analysis of the developed pumpkin petha was done in triple for determination of proximate composition following standard AOAC procedure. The moisture content, crude fat, crude protein and total ash were analysed on a percentage basis. The carbohydrate content was determined as a difference. The carbohydrate-by-difference method involves deducting the moisture, protein, lipid/fat and ash components as measured from 100 (AOAC, 2019; Md Noh et al., 2020) [8,9] .

Sensory evaluation

The sensory evaluation of developed pumpkin petha was done to identify their acceptability among the consumers. Before the evaluation, 10 panelists (Faculty members of College of Dairy Technology, Warud, Maharashtra, India) were informed about the objective of the test and they were asked to evaluate the samples independently which was a semi-trained panel (Peryam et al., 1957) [10] .

2.6

Statistical Analysis

All analyses were performed in triplicate, and the results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Data obtained from proximate composition and sensory evaluation were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine significant differences among treatments. Differences were considered statistically significant at p < 0.05. When significant differences were observed, mean separation was carried out using an appropriate post-hoc test such as the Critical Difference (CD), Least Significant Difference (LSD) or Tukey's test.

Results and Discussion

Proximate composition of pumpkin petha

The proximate composition of pumpkin petha prepared using different lime concentrations is presented in Table 1. Lime treatment significantly influenced the moisture, ash and carbohydrate contents of the developed petha, whereas crude protein and crude fat contents did not differ significantly among the treatments. Moisture content decreased progressively from 33.24% in the control treatment (T 0 ) to 29.48% in T 3 , in which the pumpkin pieces were treated with 8% lime. The control showed the highest moisture content, while T 3 recorded the lowest value, and all treatments differed significantly from one another. The reduction in moisture with increasing lime concentration may be attributed to the firming action of calcium ions on the pectic substances present in the pumpkin tissue.

Calcium treatment strengthens the cell-wall structure and may reduce tissue disintegration during cooking, thereby limiting water retention in the final product. Similar observations have been made in ash gourd petha, where calcium treatment improved firmness and influenced moisture behaviour during processing and storage (Martin-Diana et al., 2007; Singh et al., 2014) [5,6] . In a study on crystallized and Kashi petha, moisture content also increased during storage, but the initial moisture level was strongly influenced by processing conditions, including lime and sugar treatment (Pandey et al., 2014) [11] . Values are mean ± standard deviation; Carbohydrate was calculated by difference. NS = non-significant. Treatments with same superscript are statistically similar, while different superscripts indicate significant differences at p < 0.05 (n = 4). The crude protein content ranged from 0.62% in T 0 to 0.66% in T 2 , with non-significant differences among treatments. This indicates that lime concentration, within the range tested, did not substantially affect the protein fraction of pumpkin petha. The values are comparable to those reported for other cucurbit-based confectionery products, where protein typically contributes only a minor proportion of the total composition (Kim et al., 2012; Batool et al., 2022) [2,1] . [6,11] . Ash content increased significantly from 0.31% in T 0 to 0.53% in T 3 . This trend suggests that a portion of the mineral component introduced during lime treatment, particularly calcium, remained in the final product despite repeated washing. The increase in ash with higher lime concentration is consistent with the use of calcium hydroxide as a processing aid. In ash gourd petha, lime treatment has similarly been associated with changes in mineral composition and pH, which can influence texture and microbial stability (Singh et al., 2014; Pandey et al., 2014) [6,11] . Carbohydrate content, calculated by difference, increased from 65.65% in T 0 to 69.14% in T 3 . T 3 had the highest value, followed by T 2 , while T 0 and T 1 were statistically similar. Because carbohydrate was calculated by difference, the lower moisture and higher ash contents in the lime-treated samples contributed to the higher calculated carbohydrate values. The results indicate that lime treatment, particularly at 7% and 8%, produced a more concentrated petha with reduced moisture and increased solids. This is in line with findings from angoori petha, where sugar concentration and osmotic treatment strongly influenced total solids and sugar content (Singh et al., 2014) [6] . Overall, T 3 exhibited the lowest moisture and highest ash and carbohydrate contents. However, proximate composition alone does not determine product quality. Excessive lime treatment may produce a firmer or more rigid structure, which can negatively influence texture and sensory acceptability. Therefore, these compositional changes should be interpreted together with sensory data.

Sensory evaluation of pumpkin petha

The sensory evaluation scores are presented in Table 2. Significant differences were observed among treatments for appearance and colour, taste, texture, mouthfeel and overall acceptability, whereas aroma and sweetness did not differ significantly. Appearance and colour scores ranged from 7.18 in T 1 to 8.12 in T 3 . T 3 obtained the highest score and was statistically comparable with T 0 , while T 1 recorded the lowest score. The superior appearance of T 3 may be associated with better shape retention and a more translucent appearance resulting from stronger structural reinforcement by the higher lime concentration. Calcium treatment helps maintain the integrity of plant tissues during cooking and may prevent excessive collapse or disintegration. In anggori petha, colour and appearance scores declined with increasing lime water concentration and treatment time beyond an optimum, indicating that excessive lime can negatively affect visual quality (Singh et al., 2014) [6] . The present results suggest that, for pumpkin petha, the 8% lime treatment improved appearance without causing visible defects, although it adversely affected other attributes. Aroma scores varied from 7.05 in T 1 to 7.62 in T 2 , with non-significant differences. This indicates that lime concentration had no pronounced effect on the aroma profile under the conditions used. All samples received moderately favourable aroma scores, suggesting that the processing method and sugar syrup treatment produced an acceptable aroma. In anggori petha, flavour scores decreased with increasing lime water concentration and treatment time beyond an optimum, which was attributed to possible residual alkaline notes or changes in volatile composition (Singh et al., 2014) [6] . In the present study, the non-significant differences in aroma may reflect effective washing of the lime-treated pieces and the masking effect of the sugar syrup. Taste scores differed significantly among treatments. T 2 recorded the highest score of 8.05, while T 0 , T 1 and T 3 recorded lower scores. The high taste score of T 2 suggests that 7% lime treatment provided a suitable balance between firmness, syrup absorption and the characteris-tic flavour of the product. The lower score for T 3 may be related to excessive firmness or a slight residual alkaline sensation if washing was insufficient. T 1 also recorded a lower score, possibly because the softer structure allowed greater moisture or syrup absorption and did not provide the preferred eating quality. These findings are consistent with anggori petha, where maximum flavour and overall acceptability were obtained at intermediate lime concentrations (around 7.5%) and declined at higher levels (Singh et al., 2014) [6] . Similarly, in pumpkin petha, Mandal et al. (2024) [7] reported that 7.5% lime concentration yielded the best overall acceptability, whereas 5% produced a softer, less desirable structure and 10% resulted in an overly rigid texture and reduced consumer preference. Texture scores showed a clear treatment effect. T 2 obtained the highest score of 7.78 and was significantly superior to T 0 , T 1 and T 3 . The control and T 1 both received a score of 7.12, whereas T 3 recorded the lowest score of 7.10. These findings indicate that the 7% lime treatment produced the most desirable texture. The result may be explained by the ability of calcium ions to strengthen the pectin network at an appropriate concentration. At the lower concentration used in T 1 , the structural reinforcement may have been insufficient. In contrast, the higher concentration used in T 3 may have caused excessive firming, resulting in a hard or less pleasant texture. This pattern closely matches the findings of Mandal et al. (2024) [7] , who observed that 7.5% lime concentration provided optimal firmness and volume retention in pumpkin petha, while 5% and 10% produced softer and overly rigid products, respectively. In anggori petha, body and texture scores also declined with increasing lime water concentration beyond an optimum, confirming that excessive calcium treatment can impair eating quality (Singh et al., 2014) [6] . Sweetness scores ranged from 7.12 in T 1 to 7.58 in T 2 , with non-significant differences. Because the sugar-syrup concentration and cooking conditions were kept constant, the similar sweetness scores were expected. The slightly higher numerical score for T 2 may reflect better syrup distribution or improved texture rather than a true difference in sugar content. In anggori petha, sugar concentration had a positive effect on flavour and overall acceptability, but within a given sugar level, lime concentration primarily influenced texture rather than perceived sweetness (Singh et al., 2014) [6] . Mouthfeel scores differed significantly among treatments. T 2 recorded the highest score of 8.06, followed by T 0 , T 1 and T 3 . The high mouthfeel score of T 2 indicates that the product had a desirable combination of firmness, juiciness and syrup release during chewing. The lower score of T 3 may be associated with excessive firmness, while the lower score of T 1 may be related to a softer or less cohesive structure. These results further demonstrate that intermediate lime treatment provided the most acceptable eating quality. Similar trends have been reported for ash gourd petha, where products with moderate firmness and good syrup retention received higher mouthfeel and overall scores (Pandey et al., 2014) [11] . Overall acceptability ranged from 7.13 in T 1 to 8.05 in T 2 . T 2 received the highest overall acceptability score and was significantly superior to the other treatments. The high acceptability of T 2 was supported by its superior taste, texture and mouthfeel scores. Although T 3 achieved the highest appearance and colour score, its lower taste, texture, mouthfeel and overall acceptability scores suggest that the 8% lime treatment was excessive for achieving a balanced product. T 0 and T 1 were moderately acceptable but did not provide the desired combination of structural integrity and eating quality. These findings are in close agreement with previous work on pumpkin petha, where 7.5% lime concentration was identified as optimal for texture, firmness and consumer preference, while lower and higher concentrations produced inferior products (Mandal et al., 2024) [7] . They also align with studies on anggori petha, where intermediate lime concentrations (around 7.5-12.6%, depending on treatment time and sugar level) yielded maximum overall acceptability, and excessive lime had negative effects on body, texture and flavour (Singh et al., 2014) [6] . The present results extend these observations to pumpkin-based petha prepared under the specific processing conditions used here.

Selection of the optimum treatment

Considering both proximate composition and sensory characteristics, T 2 , prepared with 7% lime, was identified as the most suitable treatment for pumpkin petha. T 3 produced the lowest moisture content and the highest ash and carbohydrate values, as well as the best appearance and colour score. Nevertheless, its lower texture, taste, mouthfeel and overall acceptability scores indicate that the high lime concentration adversely affected the eating quality.

Treatment T 2 provided the best overall balance between physicochemical and sensory properties. It had moderate moisture content, acceptable mineral and carbohydrate values, the highest taste and mouthfeel scores, the most desirable texture and the highest overall acceptability. Therefore, 7% lime treatment may be recommended for the preparation of pumpkin petha under the processing conditions used in this study. The optimum lime concentration observed in this study (7%) is very close to the 7.5% reported as optimal for pumpkin petha by Mandal et al. (2024) [7] , and falls within the range of intermediate lime concentrations that produced maximum acceptability in anggori petha (Singh et al., 2014) [6] . This consistency across different raw materials (pumpkin vs ash gourd) and processing scales suggests that the principle of an intermediate calcium treatment providing the best balance between firmness and eating quality is broadly applicable to pethatype products. The findings demonstrate that pumpkin can be successfully utilized for the preparation of an acceptable value-added confectionery product. Standardization of lime concentration is essential because it directly affects moisture retention, mineral content, structural integrity and sensory quality. Further studies should evaluate storage stability, microbial quality, packaging materials and consumer acceptability using a larger and more diverse panel, as well as compare pumpkin petha with traditional ash gourd petha under identical processing and storage conditions (Pandey et al., 2014; Mandal et al., 2024) [11,7] .

Conclusion

The present study demonstrated that pumpkin can be successfully utilized for the preparation of petha with acceptable physicochemical and sensory quality. Lime treatment significantly influenced the proximate composition and sensory attributes of the developed product. Moisture content decreased progressively with increasing lime concentration, whereas ash and carbohydrate contents increased. Crude protein and crude fat contents were not significantly affected by the lime treatments. Sensory evaluation revealed that lime concentration had a marked effect on appearance and colour, taste, texture, mouthfeel and overall acceptability, whereas aroma and sweetness were not significantly influenced. The treatment containing 7% lime (T 2 ) recorded the highest scores for taste, texture, mouthfeel and overall acceptability, indicating that this concentration provided the most desirable balance between firmness, syrup absorption and eating quality.

Although the 8% lime treatment (T 3 ) produced the best appearance and colour score, its lower taste, texture and overall acceptability scores suggest that this level of lime was excessive for optimal product quality. Based on the combined evaluation of proximate composition and sensory characteristics, 7% lime treatment may be recommended for the preparation of pumpkin petha under the processing conditions used in this study. The findings confirm that an intermediate calcium treatment provides the best compromise between structural integrity and consumer acceptability, consistent with previous reports on ash gourd and pumpkin petha. The developed pumpkin petha has potential as a value-added confectionery product that can contribute to reducing post-harvest losses, diversifying pumpkin utilization and improving the economic returns of growers and smallscale food processors. Further studies are recommended to evaluate the storage stability, microbial quality, packaging requirements and consumer acceptability of pumpkin petha over extended storage periods, as well as to compare its quality and shelf life with traditional ash gourd petha under identical conditions.

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12. How to cite this article: Meshram B, Adil S, Datir R. Development and quality evaluation of pumpkin petha using pumpkin. International Journal of Agriculture and Food Science. 2026;8(9):704-709. doi: https://www.doi.org/10.33545/2664844 X.2026.v8.i9j.1940