Diversify the processing of chayote (Sechium edule) into dodol to increase its added value

Abstract

Chayote (Sechium edule) or often called jipang or labu siam in Indonesian, is generally consumed by the public as a vegetable. If the harvest is abundant, the chayote’s price will be low; thus, many of the chayotes are left alone or thrown away or become livestock feed. The chayote processing into “dodol” is an alternative to overcome the abundance of chayote during the harvest season so that the chayote farmers still have a decent income from their chayote farming. This research was conducted in Bernung Village, Gedong Tataan District, Pesawaran Regency, Lampung Province, from October to December 2018. The parameters observed were the content of water, ash, crude fiber, fat, protein, carbohydrate, vitamin C, energy levels, consumer preference (color, flavor, taste, and stickiness), and economic analysis of the chayote dodol. The results of this research showed that the chayote dodol contained complete nutritional content, i.e., water (20.07%), ash (1.26%), crude fiber (1.18%), fat (3.09%), protein (2.15%), carbohydrate (72.24%), vitamin C (0.46 mg/g), and energy (701.03 cal/g). Moreover, consumer acceptance for the color, flavor, taste, and stickiness were excellent, with an average score of > 4 (very like) and very feasible to develop into commercial, with an R/C ratio of 1.95.