Gelling behaviour of polyose from tamarind kernel polysaccharide

Polyose was isolated from tamarind kernel powder (TKP) in 50% yield by alcohol extraction of an acidified boiled aqueous extract, which was subsequently dried and pulverised. The gelling behaviour of polyose vis-à-vis pectin, and its blends with pectin was studied in a 65°Brix sucrose solute as a function of pH and concentration. One percent pectin gave a good firm gel, while 80:20 and 60:40 blends of pectin/polyose gave a firm gel at 1.5 and 2.0%, respectively. A 40:60, 20:80 and 0:100 blend of pectin/polyose gave a good set at 2.0%, beyond which the jellies were hard and difficult to chew. From the values of gel strength, 2% polyose from TKP was found to adequately substitute 1% pectin in ready-to-eat jelly formulations.