In Brazil some tropical fruits present great potential for cultivation and perspective of commercialization, one of them is the "umbu-cajazeira". A research has been developed aiming to measure the physical and chemical quality of the frozen pulp and the nectar obtained from "umbu-cajazeira" fruits, which were classified in distinct maturation stages. The fruits were divided according to shell colour in five groups: fruit completely green (1FCG), fruit starting to change shell's colour (2FSCC), fruit partially yellow (3FPY), fruit totally yellow (4FTY), fruit totaly orange-like yellow. The variables analysed comprised the physical attributes - weight, longitudinal diameter, transversal diameter and pulp yield and the chemical parameters - vitamin C and total acidity (TA) expressed as citric acid, total soluble solids (TSS), pH and the rate total soluble solids/total acidity. The fruits in the commercial maturation stage (4FTY) presented the following average values: 55,7% pulp yield; 2,08 pH; 11,25 total soluble solids; 1,77 total acidity; 6,39 TSS/TA and 17,75 mg/100g vitamin C. The frozen pulp and the nectar presented stable conditions when related to the pH., TSS, TA and TSS/TA stored over a period of 60 days. However, the viatamin C content in the frozen pulp showed a significant decrease when stored under the same condition, fact that was not observed for the nectar.
Spondia spp; umbu-cajá; characterization; frozen pulp; nectar
