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CFTRI's Tamarind candy tastes success
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Saturday, 17 June, 2006, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bangalore
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t snack and its tangy flavour is relished by happy passengers 35,000 feet high in the air. The concept, however, is down-to-earth and is an extract of the common tamarind tree, found in abundance across India.
Developed by the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, the product has turned out to be a hit and is also being sold at hundreds of outlets.
Having gone through the process of innovation and conceptualisation it has reached out to the market through transfer of high science and high technology to the small-scale industry, Dr V Prakash, Director, CFTRI, told Food & Beverage News in an e-mail interview.
The scientist behind the concept is Dr Yella Reddy, who along with the CFTRI team ensured the product was a hit in the market after six months of intensive research and development with innovation to bring out the toffee. However, behind it is years of experience in the area of confectionery.
Tamarind candy is essentially a sugar confection prepared using fresh tamarind as base material. Normal confectionery candies are hard boiled sugar confections consisting of sugar, glucose syrup, acid, colour and flavour and are glassy with sugar in non-crystalline state. Tamarind candy consists of sugar, fresh tamarind pulp as main ingredients with added salt, spices and other condiments and prepared by heating to a lower temperature compared to normal sugar candies. In addition, in this product, part of sugar is in crystalline state with granular sugar coated on the surface. The product is sweet, sour with slight pungent in taste, explained Dr Prakash.
The tamarind is cleaned removing seeds, fibre and other dirt. It is moistened with water and mixed. It is kept for an hour and then it was passed through pulper. The solids concentration of the pulp obtained is 70-75°B on refractometer, which is adjusted to 45-50°B by adding water and mixing thoroughly. This pulp forms the base for preparation of candy. The pulp is mixed with sugar and salt and the mixture is heated on gentle flame with constant stirring to about 100-110°C. The hot mass is cooled and spiced, then made into rope and small balls when the mass is still warm. The formed balls are rolled into sugar to get sugar coating on the surface. The product is immediately packed.
The product is unit packed in flexible polypropylene (BOPP) twist wrapping. Bulk packaging is done in polypropylene pouches and cardboard cartons. Currently, tamarind candy is being supplied in airlines and in food stores in urban areas after being introduced into the market nearly four years ago by small entrepreneurs with the process and know-how from CFTRI.
CFTRI's role here is R&D and as far as the commercialisation is concerned, just like any other product from CFTRI, it is always the responsibility of the firm or the industry, which takes the process. However, CFTRI can always give suggestions, As long as the product is of quality, new and innovative, it always catches the market fast. Hence the point of brand name does not come into the agenda of CFTRI as it does not produce it commercially. A number of people are already manufacturing and, therefore, it will still be popular as generic name of Tamarind Toffee like Bujia or any other generic product of this type, stated Dr Prakash.
CFTRI makes a process and product and hands them over to the industry which in turn produces it for commercialisation and markets it. However, the market forces always drive and draw in a product as long as the product is consumer friendly. That's what has made the difference.
It is now available in retail outlets besides being supplied on the airlines. Though there could be imitations, the fundamental point of Tamarind Toffee is the first innovation idea of CFTRI with a clear mandate of value addition to it through small scale industries.
CFTRI plans to improve the product with innovation built in to it and to modify it and make it better and the research is dynamic on these fronts. A number of new approaches are required such as may be new flavours, may be different size, may be different packaging etc. These are ongoing, added Dr Prakash.
It is not possible to quantify funds allocated for this project. Many a time it is an off-shoot of a number of ongoing projects. This particular project is an effort of the innovation of scientists leading into a product and then converting that product into a marketable one.
It is certainly a synergy of public-private partnership. What is important is a fundamental observation in the laboratory, converting it into a product and then through industry - CFTRI, interaction to reach out and stand the forces of market, added Dr Prakash.
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