Effect of Different Temperature Regimes on Duration of Fruit Softening and Sensory Evaluation of Dacryodes edulis

The fruits of Dacryodes edulis are seasonal and the duration of fruit softening and sensory evaluation is unknown. The effect of different temperature regimes on 3 sizes of fruits were evaluated to asses the duration of fruit softening and sensory evaluation. The duration of fruit softened at 50, 75 and 100 C were 1.5 0.5 to 13.5 0.5 min were significantly the same (p = 0.05) and significantly different (p<0.05) from fruit softened at 0 and 25 C which took 900 100 to 1450 50 min to soften. The sensory evaluation was significantly best for fruits softened at 75 C, followed by 50 C. The large fruits performed better than medium and small fruits. The different temperature regimes had effect on duration of fruit softening and sensory evaluation. However, it is recommended that, fruits of Dacryodes edulis, which are intended for eating, should be softened at water temperature regimes of 50 to 75 C.