Processing of Pulp of Various Cultivars of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) for Leather Production

A study was conducted to evaluate the quality of the leather from five different cultivars (Red Fleshed, Allahabad Safeda, Lucknow-49, Chittidar, Apple Colour of guava. Leather quality was also observed using three different recipes for its preparation. The study revealed that organoleptic quality (i.e. colour, flavour, taste, texture and overall acceptability) of leather decreased gradually with increase in the quantity of sugar added. The organoleptic quality of the pulp from Allahabad Safeda was found to be the best among all the cultivars followed by Lucknow-49. The maximum loss in weight was recorded in the leather made from Apple Colour and minimum in Allahabad Safeda. Mean values of moisture content increase significantly with increase in sugar content of leather. The highest moisture content was observed in leather from Red Fleshed. In the pulp total soluble solids (TSS) increased significantly with amount of sugar. The highest TSS was observed in Allahabad Safeda and Apple Colour. The leather acidity was affected by cultivars significantly. The maximum mean acidity was observed in leather from Allahabad Safeda and lowest in Red Fleshed. The acidity of the leather also decreased significantly with increase in sugar content. It was observed that the ascorbic acid content of leather of all cultivars showed decreasing trend with recipes when the sugar content was increased. The statistical analysis showed significant difference in the mean ascorbic acid content of leather due to different recipes.