Training programme on making value added products from Pumpkin at UHF Nauni

A three-day training programme on value addition of pumpkin was organized by the Food Science and Technology Department of the Dr.YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF) Nauni.
The Department of Science and Technology sponsored programmewas attended by 21 women from the rural areas of Solan, Hamirpur, Mandi and Bilaspur districts of Himachal Pradesh.
“The main aim of the training was to provide knowledge about the various kinds of food products that can be prepared from pumpkin. Through simple value addition techniques, we have prepared products like jam, pickle, porridge, biscuits, sauce, drinks etc, which can easily fetch a good price in the market. These techniques can be easily adopted and entrepreneurship opportunities can be explored in this field,” said Dr. Anju Dhiman, Professor and Head of UHF’s Food Science and Technology Department.
Explaining about the programme, the training coordinator Dr. Surekha Attri said that the women were given technical expertise through practical sessions on how to make various value-added pumpkin-based food products like tutti-fruit, jams, candies, pumpkin pulp, drinks and instant products. The participants were also given details about setting up a processing centre.