Formulation and Physiochemical Evaluation of Juice Blends Produced from Orange, Tigernut and Carrot

The study was conducted to prepare juice blend by using Orange, Carrot and Tiger-nut juices. Fully mature raw Orange, Tiger-nut and Carrot were processed into juice forms and combined in different ratios which were analyzed for their composition and Consumer’s acceptability. The analysis showed that the juice with higher Orange juice content had higher levels of acidity. This implies that they would last longer as they are not susceptible to spoilage by most organisms. The Juice with higher orange juice content was also found to be very rich in Vitamin C, due to inherent high amount of Vitamin C in raw Orange Fruit. However, it scored lowest in terms of general acceptability because the raw fruit was purchased separately and there’s a likelihood some of the Orange used in the Juice preparation were sour. This led to a sour taste in this Juice blend. The Juice blend that contained equal proportions of all three juices was the most acceptable to the consumers in terms of color, taste and Nutritional composition. It gave equal amounts of the unique properties of each fruit and provided a unique color and taste that was very appealing to the panelists. This product makes it possible to properly utilize these fruits, reduce post harvest losses, cater to different health needs of the consumers and ensure food security. It is recommended that further work should be done on antioxidant properties, other fruit blends and storage stability of the beverage to determine the shelf-life.