Processing of ready-to-use drumstick soup mixes and their storage stability

The study was taken up to process convenience soup mixes from drumstick (Moringa oleifera) var PKM 2. The soup mixes from drumstick were prepared by mixing drumstick powder with suitable flavouring, thickening agent and taste improvers in correct proportions. Drumstick powder was prepared by two simple techniques by varying the pretreatment procedure. From this, the soup mix DSM₁ and DSM₂ were prepared by adding other ingredients viz., corn flour, skimmed milk powder, soy flour, onion flour, pepper powder and cumin seed powder. In addition to this, the taste improvers such as citric acid, salt and sugar were mixed. Initially the soup mixes contained moisture, pH, acidity, starch, β-carotene, ascorbic acid and total antioxidant activity, respectively, 4.27 to 4.13%, 4.58 to 4.82, 0.48 to 0.52%, 39.60 to 46.15 g per 100g, 96.59 to 95.23 mg per 100g, 53.92 to 42.97 mg per 100g. The total antioxidant activity of soup mix DSM₁ was slightly higher (77.83% RSA) than DSM₂ (75.42% RSA). The storage stability revealed that the metallized polypropylene containers helped maintain the quality of soup mixes better than polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate containers.