Post-harvest Sensory Characteristics and Consumer Acceptance of Vegetable Pigeonpea

Pigeonpea ( Cajanus cajan Milsp) is an important food crop in the dryland tropics. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of post-harvest processing and storage on sensory characteristics of pigeonpea. Moisture content of harvested pigeonpeas was assessed at 0. 22 and 60 days of storage. Five treatments of podded, deep-frozen (-18°C), blanched (72°C, 2min), oven-dried (65°C, 8hr), and blanched + oven-dried pigeonpea, in a completely randomized design were evaluated for sensory characteristics at post-harvest storage. The reduction in moisture content was highest (43%) in podded and lowest (6%) on blanched pigeonpea at 60 days of storage. Consumer acceptance of pigeonpea varied significantly ( P < 0.05 ) for traits of physical appearance, color, aroma, and seed tenderness. Physical appearance of podded pigeonpea had a sensory rating of 6.3, indicating high acceptability, while blanched samples had a 6.0 rating on a 7-point hedonic scale. The podded, blanched + oven-dried and seed tenderness had 5.6, 6.6, and 6.1 scores, respectively. The sensory scores of podded and oven-dried were attributed to high sugar concentrations (4.25 mg/100g) the samples at 22 days post pre-treatment. Palatability and overall acceptance of pigeonpea were comparable, indicating that post-harvest treatment and 22-day storage had positive sensory attributes. Post-harvest processing treatment and storage may enhance vegetable pigeonpea utilization in the dryland regions.