The citrus fruits have a high nutritive value and are also beneficial effects for human health due to their high flavonoid content. Mandarin (Citrus unshiu March.) a kind of citrus fruits are consumed as fresh and processed juice and/or juice concentrate. The aim of this work was to produce jam and evaluate its physical, chemical and sensory qualities from satsuma mandarins that are inconsumable or low quality small fruits. The jam was produced with 1:1 fruits: sugar ratios in an open vessel by traditional technique. Produced whole fruit mandarin jam had reasonable favour score from applied hedonic scale. The mean values of total soluble solid, titratable acidity as citric acid, dry matter, ash percent and pH of jam samples on wet basis were found as 70.38, 0.098, 74.77, 0.28 and 2.87 respectively. Hunter L, a and b values of tangerin jam were measured as 45.34, 11.48, and 21.16 respectively. Total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity and vitamine C of sample were measured 201.60 mg/100g as gallic acid equivalent and 102,24 mg FeSO4.7H2O/100g, 0.07 mg/100 g respectively.

Prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) is a plant belonging to the Cactaceae family. Due to its high sugar content, fruits can be used as raw materials in many products from fresh or jam to alcoholic beverages by end consumers. This study aims to determine some phytochemical and physical properties of prickly pear collected at different harvest times in Turkey. The fruit characteristics evaluated are color, moisture, ash, some pomological properties, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, sugar composition, total antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, total flavonoid, and total ascorbic acid content. August was preferred more than the others in terms of total soluble dry matter, TSS/acidity value and lightness, redness, and color intensity. However, fruits harvested early and late reached higher phytochemical content than August and September. Especially October was considered more remarkable in terms of total antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, total flavonoid, and total ascorbic acid content.

This study aimed to evaluate the industrial potential of herbal tea formulations derived from black and white myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) fruits and leaves collected from the Mersin province of Türkiye. Myrtle fruits were processed as fresh, and with use oven-dried (105 °C), and freeze-dried methods, and combined with 3–5% myrtle leaves to create various tea blends. While the dried tea samples had high levels of total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity, the transfer rate of these bioactive compounds into the infusion varied depending on the formulation and drying method. In myrtle tea samples, the pH values ranged from 5.25 to 7.98, while the titratable acidity was determined between 0.01% and 0.09% (as citric acid equivalents). Moisture content varied from 99.91 to 99.15 g/100 g, and the ash content ranged from 0.004% to 0.74%. Regarding color attributes, the L* values (lightness) ranged between 24.44 and 27.72, the a* values (red/green axis) between 0.20 and 1.68, and the b* values (yellow/blue axis) ranged from -0.78 to 2.08. According to the sensory evaluation results conducted by expert panelists, most of the myrtle tea samples were found to be generally well-liked. Among all formulations, the tea sample identified as CODE-473 (3% freeze-dried black myrtle fruit + 5% myrtle leaves) received the highest overall acceptability score, with an average of 3.80 on a five-point scale, particularly in terms of odor, flavor, and overall preference. The mean overall acceptability score across all myrtle tea samples was determined to be 2.57, indicating a moderate level of consumer acceptance. Sensory evaluation results, analyzed via principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering, revealed key patterns among the tea samples. Myrtle-based teas demonstrated potential for industrial-scale production as value-added functional beverages, combining sensory appeal with bioactive benefits. The findings underscore the potential of myrtle as a versatile raw material for food innovation, particularly in Mediterranean contexts, and warrant further investigation into its broader applications.