Development And Acceptability Of Tamarillo Honey Jam Among Preschoolers (4-5 Years) And Adults In Kakamega, Kenya

Fighting malnutrition in all its forms among adults and children faces a great challenge in the 21st century. Utilization of fruits in jam production has been on the rise. Exploring the use of honey for food value addition has also gained popularity. Tamarillo as a fruit has a high antioxidant activity, contents of carotenoids, ascorbic acid, Vitamin B6, minerals and provitamin A. Globally, tamarillo is an underutilized, sustainable fruit crop with great potential for value-added product preparations such as salads, sauces, soups, jams, ice creams, juices and liqueurs. In Kenya, tamarillo has gained traction in the recent past due to the increasing awareness of its nutritional value and economic potential. This study sought to develop tamarillo honey jam and determine its acceptability among preschoolers (4-5) years and adults (parents included) (25-60) years. Fresh ripe tamarillo fruits were collected along with honey from Kitale and Marigat farms. The acceptability tests done with preschoolers used the 9-point hedonic scale and Focus Group Interview guide for adults. The sensory evaluation parameters used were: smell, appearance/colour, mouth feel, taste, fluidity and general acceptance. Coded and transcribed videos were analyzed with NVIVO 20 for qualitative data and SPSS version 25 for the descriptive statistics. Developed tamarillo honey jam consisted of 64.93% (4.3 kg) fruit pulp, 32.45% (2.15 kg) honey, 2.59% (0.172 kg) pectin and 0.03% (0.002 kg) preservatives. The results showed that the smell, appearance/colour, taste, mouthfeel and fluidity of tamarillo honey jam were important factors in accepting the jam. More than 75% of both adults and preschoolers liked the jam with less than 25% having negative test preferences. The findings revealed that tamarillo jam was acceptable among the adults and preschoolers. Findings indicate that honey can be incorporated in jams for consumption of variety value added nutritious products and help address macronutrients and micronutrient public health concerns alongside diets.