CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
If you enjoy growing fresh vegetables in your garden, you may end
up with an excess of produce. One way to preserve and store the
vegetables before they decay is to turn them into a dried vegetable
powder. With this powder, we can use it for preparing various foods. In
this study, the researchers will use squash as the main material in the
experiment. The plants are believed to have originated in South America,
but their cultivation had spread throughout the Americas by the time the
first Europeans arrived. (Grolier, 1995)
Squash, most commonly known as “calabaza” here in the
Philippines, have healthy benefits in our body. It is often used in cooking
dishes, salads and it is one of the most loved vegetable for kids.
B. Statement of the Problem
This study would produce and evaluate powder that can be used
for various food preparations using raw squash.
Sub-Problems:
1) What are the characteristics of the uncooked and cooked
squash powder in terms of:
a. Color
b. Texture
c. Aroma?
2) Is there a significant difference on the characteristic of the
uncooked and cooked squash with squash powder in terms of
color, texture and aroma?
3) Which food preparation is more suitable for the squash powder
in terms of palatability:
a. Baking
b. Steaming?
4) Is there a significant difference of the palatability of raw squash
and squash powder for each food preparation?
5) What other food preparation that can be easily done using
squash powder rather than squash in its pure form?
6) Which preservative is better in terms of shelf-life for the squash
powder?
a. Salt
b. Sugar
7) What are the advantages and disadvantages of the squash
powder?
C. Hypotheses
1) There is no significant difference on the characteristic of the
uncooked and cooked squash with squash powder in terms of
color, texture and aroma.
2) There is no significant difference of the palatability of raw
squash and squash powder for each food preparation.
D. Objectives of the Study
This study aims to produce a powder that can be used for some
food preparations by using the squash as the main material. It also aims to
distinguish which food preparation is more suitable for the squash powder
in terms of palatability, and also aims to determine which preservative is
better in terms of shelf-life for the product.
E. Significance of the Study
Squash is a rich source of vitamin A. It also contains vitamin B and
C, which helps boosting the immune system and prevents colds. It also
has calcium, phosphorous, fiber which lowers rates of heart diseases, and
carotene, which also prevents cancer, and lung and heart diseases.
Farmers can benefit from this study. The framers can make a
business out from it. Moms, too, can also benefit from it. They would not
be bothered forcing their children in eating their “veggies”, because their
children will not notice that they are already eating vegetables which they
hate.
F. Scope and Limitations
Adding squash powder to various food preparations is limited only
in this study. The future researchers will produce squash powder; evaluate
its characteristics using Score Card and the Hedonic Scale. If this is
acceptable, then squash powder will be used to determine which food
preparation is more suitable for it in terms of palatability.
G. Definition of Terms
Aroma
It is the scent referring to the pleasant odor of the
food.
Baking
It is the technique of cooking food by dry heating;
used for the preparation of making cake, bread, etc.
Color
It is a physical characteristic of the test subject and/or
the finished product.
Palatability
It is the quality of being pleasant to the taste.
Powder form
It is the resulting form of the experimented test
subject.
Preservation
It is a method of storing raw or fresh food to avoid
spoilage by using preservatives.
Preservatives
Like sugar and salt, these are used to preserve the
food or the powder to avoid spoiling of the product.
Pulverization
It is the process where the test subject will be reduced
to fine powder form either by cooking its juice extract
or by grinding.
Pure form
It is the original form or structure of the product.
Shelf-life
It is the length of time that the product is given before
it is considered unsuitable for use or consumption.
Squash
It is a vine gourd family of the genus Cucurbita,
resembling the pumpkin in its edible fleshy fruit
(Webster, 1983). This is the test subject in this study.
Texture
It is a physical characteristic of the test subject and/or
the product; It is the feel of the structure.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND RELATED STUDIES
Vegetable powders are used to “tuck more nutrition and flavor into the
things people cook” (Willson, n.d.). These days some vegetables and other fruits
– mostly spices – like tomato, chili, pepper, and onion, are made into powder for
easy use. Vegetable powder can be added to juices or as a base for soups to
make it more nutritious (Sundstrom, 2011). It provides value-added thickening for
soups (Willson, n.d.). For example, squash.
Different Kinds of Squash
Squash (Cucurbita spp.), also known as calabaza or pumpkin, from the
Cucurbitaceae family, is a genus of gourd plants grown for their fruit. It is related
to the family of melons and cucumbers (O’Brien, 2009). It is a cool-to-moderateweather root vegetable with long, lacy leaves reaching about 0.3m (1ft) in height
(Grolier Encyclopedia of Knowledge, 2002). It is a very good source of vitamins A
and C, calcium and iron. It has very low calories (Nutritional Value of Squash |
Healthy Living Tips, 2009). It is also rich in fiber, which lowers rates heart
diseases, and protects from colon cancer by working to get rid the body of
harmful substances (O’Brien, 2009). Due to its healthy benefits, the future
researchers are determined to produce squash powder out of raw squash for
easy use. To make this powder last longer, preservatives are added,
Preservatives are substances used or added to products to preserve or
avoid spoiling of food. They are also called additives. There are available
chemical preservatives, but natural preservatives are commonly used. Common
food preservatives are salt, sugar and vinegar. The researchers will be using salt
and sugar as their food preservatives.
Salt has been used as a natural food preservative since ancient times,
especially for meat. Salted meat can last for many years. The phenomenon
behind adding salt as a preservative is that it dehydrates microbes through the
process of osmosis. Thus, it inhibits the bacteria that cause food spoilage. Salt
also protects food from yeasts and molds. It increases the “shelf-life” of various
food stuffs.
Sugar, an organic compound in the form of carbohydrate, has been used
as a natural food preservative in many of the food items. Sugar sweetens the
food product and inhibits the growth of microorganisms through the phenomenon
of osmosis. Foods can be stored either in sugar syrup or in crystallized form,
where the food to be stored is cooked in sugar till the point of crystallization.
Sugar acts by drawing out water from the bacteria and other microorganisms,
which either kills the bacteria or inhibits their growth.
Preserving food is accomplished by controlling and where possible the
agents of food spoilage are destroyed, in other words, it is a method of storing
raw and cooked food for a very long time by using food preservatives. Since the
ancient times, people have been using a number of natural products to preserve
their foods. But before using the advent of preservatives, food was commonly
stored inside clay jars to avoid food spoilage. The earliest preservative that was
used was salt, during the Middle Ages.
Many processes designed to preserve food will involve a number of food
preservation methods. Preserving fruit, by turning it into jam, for example,
involves boiling (to reduce the fruit’s moisture content and to kill the bacteria,
yeasts.atc.), sugaring (to prevent their re-growth; examples are fruit juices and
condensed milk) and sealing with an airtight jar (to prevent recontamination).
(Food Preservation, n.d.)
Other ways include freezing. Foods which spoil readily are frozen for
transportation, and must be kept packed in ice until used (examples: fish and
poultry). Smoking is the method where some foods after being salted are hung in
a closed room for several hours, where hickory wood is allowed to smother.
Examples are ham, beef, and fish. Preserving by oil, examples; sardines,
anchovies, etc; Pickling, exclusion of air, canning, drying and vacuum treatment
are also ways to preserve food. (Farmer, 1918)
A study was conducted on pulverizing a vegetable for convenience.
Jubelag’s (2008) study entitled “Carrot (Daucus Carota) Powder for Various Food
Preparation”, aimed to make carrots in powdered form for convenience in
cooking and the younger ones who does not like eating it, not to notice that they
are already taking in carrots, which is a very healthy vegetable. The researcher
has produced the carrot powder with table sugar as its preservative, but was not
able to make the carrot powder using table salt. It is recommended in this study
to find a way for the powder not to affect the food’s taste, color and odor, and to
find out the exact amount of preservative, to be added to a given volume of the
vegetable’s extract that is to be powdered.
Previous studies were made and used different vegetables in making into
powder form. From the study above, after producing the carrot powder, the
researcher just randomly added the powder to some available food, like ice
cream, and just taste to see if the powder is suitable in terms of palatability. The
future researchers modify some method for various food preparation, such as
baking and steaming, to see if which food preparation is more suitable for the
powder in terms of palatability.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Research Design
This research aims to determine the suitability or the acceptability
of squash in the form of powder for various food preparations. The
research employs experimental research design to develop squash
powder. Trial and error will be done to arrive to an acceptable product.
B. Materials and Equipments
Materials
 Knife (2 pcs)
 Peeler (1 pc)
 Grater (1 pc)
Equipments
Ingredients
 meat grinder (1 pc)
 Raw squash
 table salt
 table sugar
C. Experimental Set-Up
A – Squash Powder only
Legend:
B – Raw squash only
C – Squash powder with Salt
D – Squash powder with Sugar
Table C1. Rate Table for testing the Shelf-life of the squash products
Squash
Characteristics
Color
Aroma
Texture
A
B
C
D
Legend:
A – Ginataang Squash
B – Cake
C – Puto
Table C2.
Rate Table for Testing the Characteristics of each Food
Preparation
Food
Addition of
Raw Squash
Color
A
B
C
Aroma
Texture
Powdered Squash
Taste
Color
Aroma
Texture
Taste
D. General Procedure
Preparation of Raw Squash
Ten or more squashes in different sizes that are fresh, clean and
mature will be gathered. It will be washed, peeled, sliced in cubes and
grated.
Pulverization Process
The grated squash will now be air-dried, with the preservatives
added, which will remove the water from the grated squash. It will then be
grinded using a grinder, to produce the squash powder.
E. Product Development
Trials will be conducted after each trial to achieve a desired
product. The research adviser will evaluate the product and give her
suggestions for the improvement and enhancement of the product of the
research for each trial. Trials will end until an acceptable product will be
achieved base on the evaluation of the research adviser.
F. Sampling Design
The researchers will use Random Sampling by identifying panel of
evaluators using the Fishbowl Technique. The names of the IDS Junior
students will be written on a piece of paper, rolled and placed in a bowl.
Thirty names will be drawn to evaluate the product of the researchers
using the Score Card for the characteristics and the Hedonic Scale for
acceptability.
G. Instruments in Data Gathering
The instruments that will be used in data gathering are the Score
Card and the Hedonic Scale. The Score Card is for sensory evaluation of
the evaluators; while the Hedonic Scale is for measuring the acceptance
for the valuators as shown in the tables below.
Table G1. Score Card Scale for the Characteristics of the Squash Powder
Description
Rating
Color
Texture
Aroma
5
Brilliant
Coffee like
Pleasant
4
Slightly Brilliant
Slightly Coffee Like
Slightly Pleasant
3
Average
Average
Average
2
Slightly not Brilliant
Slightly
Like
1
Not Brilliant
Not Coffee Like
not
Coffee Slightly
Pleasant
Not Pleasant
Table G2. Hedonic Scale for the Acceptability
Rating
9
8
7
6
5
General Acceptability
Like Extremely
Like Very Much
Like Moderately
Like Slightly
Neither Like Nor Dislike
4
3
2
1
Dislike Slightly
Dislike Moderately
Dislike Very Much
Dislike Extremely
not
H. Product Evaluation
The panel of evaluator will be given the Score Card and Hedonic
Scale to evaluate the different samples of squash powder prepared in
various ways.
The evaluators will rate the desirable characteristics of
each sample product by using numerical rating from 1 – 5, where 5 is the
highest and 1 is the lowest. Specific descriptions per characteristics were
laid out in Table G1 and G2 for easy evaluation and minimize biases.
The general/overall acceptability of the samples of squash powder
will be rated using Hedonic Scale. The evaluators will rate the samples
from 1 – 9 were 1 corresponds to “dislike extremely” which means least
accepted and 9 corresponds to “like extremely” which means the most
accepted product as shown in Table G2.
I. Statistical Tools for Data Analysis
The data that will be gathered will be analyzed and interpreted to
get the overall rating of the product. The weighted mean will be employed
to find the characteristics and acceptability of the different samples of
squash powder. Friedman test or Kruskal-Wallis H Test will be used in
order to know if there is a significant difference among samples.
Mean
𝑋 =
𝑤𝑖𝑥𝑖
𝑁
Where:
xi = weighted mean
wi = frequency
N = total number of respondents
X = responses
 = Sum of all weighted mean
For interpretation of results, the following tables below will serve as a
guide.
Score Card and Hedonic Scale Interpretation
Table I1. Score Card Interpretation Guide
Mean
Rating
General
Interpretation
Description
Color
Texture
Odor
4.20 - 5.00
Excellent
Yellow
Very Smooth
Very Pleasant
3.40 - 4.19
Very good
Yellowish
Smooth
Pleasant
2.60 - 3.39
Good
Light Brown
Slightly
Smooth
Moderately
Pleasant
1.80 - 2.59
Satisfactory
Brown/Brownish
Rough
Unpleasant
1.00 - 1.79
Poor
Dark Brown
Very Rough
Very
Unpleasant
Table I2. Hedonic Scale Interpretation Guide
Mean Rating
General Acceptability
8.12 - 9.00
Like Extremely
7.23 - 8.11
Like Very Much
6.34 - 7.22
Like Moderately
5.45 - 6.33
Like Slightly
4.56 - 5.44
Neither Like Nor Dislike
3.67 - 4.55
Dislike Slightly
2.78 - 3.66
Dislike Moderately
1.89 - 2.77
Dislike Very Much
1.00 - 1.88
Dislike Extremely
Collection and Preparation of
Materials
Washing and peeling
of Raw Squash
Grating of raw
squash
Adding of Preservatives
Air-dry
Grinding Process
Finished Product:
Squash Powder
Figure I3. Flowchart of the Experimental Procedure