Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region III
Schools Divisions of Nueva Ecija
TALAVERA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Highway 1, Villa Rufina Subdivision, Pag-asa District, Talavera Nueva Ecija, 3114

ACCEPTABILITY OF WHITE TARO (Colocasia Esculenta) JAM

A Research Study
Presented to
The Panel Examiners of
Talavera Senior High School
Talavera, Nueva Ecija

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Subject
Research Project in
Technical-Vocational-Livelihood/Home Economics (TVL-HE)

By

GROSPE, DANIELLE ANNE DC.

ESCUADRO, LYKA JOY B.
BAHIL, JERALD P.
VICENTE, TRIXCY M.
ARCEGA, MARIA AMOR C.
BULANADI, MAYBELYN JOY DESSERE S.
ANCHETA, JANE DV.
 CHAPTER I

Introduction and Background of the study

Introduction

Many people have a complicated relationship with food. Food gave them
happiness and satisfaction, it also plays vital role in maintaining good physical
and mental health. Food is one of the basic necessity that people needs, it is
something that provide nutrients and source of energy in human and every
living organism. Food contains proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and
vitamins that human need to fight and prevent any types of diseases and
protects everyone from chronic non-communicable diseases such as heart
disease and cancer.

In this generation, the advancement of products is rapidly rising. Food

manufacturers are innovating new products to introduce in the market. People
are very fond when eating and known as good eater, eat whenever they want
and always on the go.

Food is not only a stuff that people are eating, it is also a stress reliever.
People can always turn to food to make them feel better. They even use food
as their motivation for finishing their task and even relieve them from fatigue.
Nowadays, most of the food are scattered in the market and also in any types
of social media apps that is new to the eyes of people and costumers. Good
food quality, appearance and taste is the most important attributes in any
foods so that it can be acceptable and will succeed.

As of today, since there are many kinds of fruit jam, the researchers came
up with this idea on creating a healthier version of jam using the crops
believing to be originated in Southeast Asian country which is the white taro
(Colocasia Esculenta). The researchers assume that people might get bored or
tired of eating repeatedly the usual spreads like butter, cheese and mayonnaise
in a bread or toast.

Jam is a thick fruit spread usually made with crushed and chopped fruits
and large amount of sugar. It is often spread on breads or toasts or jam tarts.
Jam consists of four basic ingredients; fruit, sugar, thickening or pectin and
acidity regulator. Through a gentle and careful production process, the different
ingredients are boiled in a low fire heat. This product is good for heart pain
and prevent sweating due to internal diseases. Even though jam has nutritional
and health benefits, it may also affect bad for your health because it
consumes a lot of sugar. There are basically two types of jam, those made
with pectin and those without.

Jam has been made and eaten by societies throughout the centuries, from
Ancient Greece, to soldiers in the Napoleonic war. The first jam recipe is
recorded to the first cookbook, De Re Coquinaria (The Art of Cooking), it
contains a lot of Indian recipes and over 500 written recipes. Most of the
recipes is about soft fruit heated with honey, the mixture the cooled and
stored to create one of the earliest recorded form of jam. It is attributed to
Marcus Gavius Apacius (believed to be pseudonym) and date from fourth
century AD Rome.

Taro (Colocasia Esculenta) is a root and starchy vegetable. It is most

widely cultivated species of several plants in the family of Araceae that are
used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are food
staple in Africa, Oceanic and South Asia culture (similar to yams). Taro is
believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plant. Taro include its ability to
improve digestion, lower your blood sugar levels, prevent certain types of
cancer, protect the skin, boost vision health, increase circulation, decrease
blood pressure, aid the immune system and prevent heart disease while also
supporting muscle and nerve health.
 Taro root is an excellent source of dietary fiber and good carbohydrates,
which both improve the function of your digestive system and can contribute
to health weight loss. It has high levels of vitamin C, vitamin B6, and also
vitamin E that also help to maintain a healthy immune system and may
eliminate free radicals. Taro root also contains high level of manganese,
potassium, copper, and phosphorus.

Taro is also known as eddoe or dasheen, originated in the Bay of Bengal

region of South-East Asia. It was carried by Polynesian throughout where it
became a staple food. It is an ancient crop in Asia, being introduced in Japan
more than 2500 years ago. Taro has lost some popularity in the traditional
areas of production in the South Pacific and Asia owning the significant crop
losses attribute to taro leaf blight disease. Nevertheless, it is widely grown in
this region. There are few types of taro exist: Xanthosma (palagi taro),
Colocasia Esculenta (true taro), Cyrtusperma (giant swamp taro) and Alocasia
(giant taro).

Taro is found widely in tropical and sub-tropical regions of South Asia,

East Asia, Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, Northern Australia and in
Maldives. At 3.3 million metric tons per year, Nigeria is the largest producer
of taro root in the world. The production of taro in the Philippines is still
low compared to sweet potato and cassava that the crop has been classified
under “other” roots and tubers. It ranks far third in production and hectarage
among the root and dry land and under conditions intermediate between paddy
and dry land cultures.

In this study, the researchers wants to develop and discover new and
unique kind of alternative jam that has nutritional benefits and must be
delicious. It will be introduced as a new jam flavor and the researchers
assume that this food will encourage and be accepted of every individual.
Statement of the problem

This study focused on the determination of acceptability of the white taro

as an alternative jam.

Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions:

1. How may the respondents’ socio demographic profile be described in terms

of:

1.1. Age; and

1.2. Sex;

2. How will be the white taro jam be accepted in terms of:

2.1. Smell;

2.2. Sweetness;

2.3. Taste;

2.4. Color;

2.5. Texture; and

3. What is the result of the product through Microbiological test?

3.1. Accepted;

3.2. Highly accepted; and

3.3. Not accepted?

Significance if the Study

This study beneficial and helpful to the following persons:

To the entrepreneurs. The person who are planning to venture in to

business, or even to those who are involved in the food industry.

To the consumer. Consumer who loves eating jam especially those

vegetarian people since this product is made to white taro, thus it is more
nutritious and healthy food option.

To mothers or individual. It is the person who are interested in making

delicacies because they can have their own homemade jam which is less
costly since the white taro, and other ingredients in the production is very
affordable.

To the researchers. It may help aside from the knowledge gained on

how to conduct a research we were able to develop a new product as well
that can be market in the near future.

Conceptual Framework

According to K Laxminarayana (2020), white taro or Colocasia or cocoyam

is usually used as flour for preparation of soups, biscuits, bread, beverages and
puddings. The mature corms and young shoots of aroids are mostly used as
boiled vegetables, but the corms are roasted, baked or fried and can be eaten
alone or with stew.
 The mature corms and young shoots of aroids are mostly used as boiled
vegetables, but the corms are roasted, baked, or fried and can be eaten alone
or with stew. Nowadays, there are many types of dishes using taro that are
scattered in the market. Leaves of taro are cooked and eaten as vegetable, they
contain B-carbonate, iron and folic acid, which protects against anemia.

Taro flour used to prepare ‘fufu’ that is commonly eaten in Nigeria. In

Southeastern part of Nigeria, tannia is used in small quantity as soup thickener
after boiling and pounding to obtain consistent paste. In South Pacific, young
taro leaves are used with coconut cream to prepare a dish called ‘luau’, which
is used to eat the boiled or roasted taro, breadfruit and banana (Regional
Centre, Central Tuber Crops, Institute, Dumuduma, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India,
2020).

From aforementioned, the researchers wanted to develop another kind of

extraordinary jam using the root vegetable which is the white taro. Once
success, it can produce for marketable products to satisfy the consumers
locally and internationally.

Research Paradigm

This study used the Input-Process-Output (IPO) Model to present the

variables involve in the study.

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

 Profile of the  Data

respondents gathering
through
 Respondent’s survey
preference Acceptability of
 Data White Taro Jam
 Microbiological analysis
test
 Figure 1. Research Paradigm

For the input shows the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of
age and sex, the preferences of the respondents towards the alternative jam in
terms of smell, sweetness, taste, texture and color and the results of the
acceptance of white taro jam through microbiological test if accepted, highly
accepted, or not accepted.

The process box indicates the data gathering procedure and analysis of data,
and for the output, the researchers came up with a write-up of the study
“Acceptability of White Taro Jam”.

Scope and Delimitation

This study will be conducted to the teachers at the Talavera Senior High
School as the respondents during second semester of the School Year 2022-
2023. This will be held at Bahil residence where the researchers will ask for
proper guidance and permission to the owner of the house. The sample
products will be given to the respondents. Sensory evaluation sheet will
administered to determine to the consumer acceptance of white taro jam.

Definition of key terms

The following terms were conceptually define for better understanding of

the study.
 Taro – (Colocasia Esculenta) is a small herbaceous plant with large
leaves found in most parts of tropics and is very important in the
pacific region. A starchy root vegetable originally cultivated in Asia but
now enjoyed around the world. It has brown outer skin, and white
flesh.

Sugar – is a sucrose made from the sugar cane. Cane juice is

extracted by crushing the canes to release the juice which is filtered
with slaked lime to remove dirt and debris from the harvesting process.
Next, it is thickened into syrup by boiling.

Jam – is a condiment. It is usually made from pressed fruit, sugar,

and sometimes pectin. Most jams are cooked. After making, jam is
normally put into an airtight jar.

Taro Leaves – are the heart-shaped leaves of the taro.

Corms – a rounded storage organ present in plants such as crocuses,

gladioli, and cyclamens, consisting of a swollen stem based covered
with scale leaves.
 CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature

This chapter presents a review of literature and studies on course

preferences, and the theories and factors that have been found to influence
such preferences. These related literature were, however very helpful in the
conceptualization of the research and in interpretation of the gathered.

Composition of White Taro

The name Colocasia was borrowed in Latin, a small genus name of Asian
and Polynesian tuberous-rooted aroids having the spadix terminated by a club-
shaped or subulate appendage. The present distribution of taro (Colocasia
Esclenta), as a cultivated food plant, extends from Southern to Northern
Africa, Western Asia to Eastern Asia, throughout Southeast Asia and the
Pacific Islands and through the Americas, from the USA to Brazil (Peter Joseph
Mattews, Michel Edmond Ghanem, 2020).

Taro is correctly noted as a poisonous plant on many websites (e.g.

Queensland Government, 2019) and is also commonly reported as an invasive
“weed”. In most cases where taro has been reported as a weed (e.g. Spain,
Australia, and Southern USA, Garcia-del-Lomas et al., 2012; Moran & Yang, 2012;
Queensland Government, 2012).
 The plant was historically introduced as a food plant and cultivated or
planted in naturally wet ocations, from where it has spread. Although certain
ethnic groups or minorities may recognize and harvest these newly-wild plants
as food, their use values, or potential use values, have generally been
overlooked. Vegetative self-propagation by taro is vigorous, and clones can
easily spread from cultivation, naturalize in wet environments, and from
commensal wild populations (Mattews, 2014; Mattews et al., 2017)

Taro is a traditional crop with significant nutritional and medicinal potential.

The available literature indicates that different plant parts of taro contain a
combination of bioactive chemicals, such as saponins, polyphenols, and
alkaloids and therapeutic properties, including hepatoprotective,
immunoprotective, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, anti-
compulsive, and anti-carcinogenic properties. Additionally, taro plays an
effective protective role against cancer and cancer-related risk factors, including
carcinogens and biological agents, and various pathophysiological conditions
such as inflammation and oxidative stress (Mansuri, Agnieszka, Joanna, Aarti,
Prince, Ankur, Minaxi, Kandi, Surya, and Ravinder, 2012).

According to P.J. Mattews, E. M. G. Agoo, D. N. Tandang and D. A. Matulip,

(2012), the most remarkable observation regarding the use of taro, from wild
or cultivated plants, is that the acidity (itchiness) is a very general uncertainty
or concern. The removal of acidity by cooking does not appear completely
predicatable

Interest in white taro as food and health products

According to Rainer P. Fiscal and Aimee Concepcion C. Chaves, (2013),

taro corms (Colocasia Esculenta) is recommended to be used as raw material
in making mine. The researchers employed in this study was the experimental
method. The quality of taro corms has determined through physicochemical
evaluation such as pH, total soluble solids, and alcohol content and subjected
to sensory assessment regarding aroma, clarity, color, taste, and general
acceptability.

According to Azhar Ahmed and Farukh Khan, (2013), taro has been reported
to have 70-80% starch with small granules, because of the small sizes of its
starch granules, taro is highly digestable. According to them, this study will
use the taro starch granules to make cosmetic formulations like face powder
and in dusting preparations which use aerosol dispensing system.

As the result, starch has been extracted from taro successfully by three
methods of extraction and it has been found that the starch which is extracted
by wet milling method shows better property as compared to other two
methods. Tablets which are prepared from wet milled extracted starch by wet
granulation process shows better disintegration. And after comparison with
standard reference tablets i.e. potato and corn starch placebo tablets, the taro
starch tablet shows better disintegration as compared to the reference tablets
due to this is can be proven that the taro starch is a better disintegrant as
compared to the other natural starches.

The taro corms can also use in making choco cupcake (Ruberto Umerel,
Andrea Alexa Dinglasa, Brian Meguez Arsaga, Adam Russel Sayas, Eduardo
Purisma Jr. & Alice Tolato, 2019).

Taro was used Hawaiians to treat illness ranging from constipation to

tuberculosis. It is used as a laxative in cases of haemorrhoids. The raw juice
mixed with sugar was taken orally to reduce fever. The leaves of the plant are
rich in vitamins A, B, and C and were used to treat asthma. Taro is good for
people allergic to milk or cereals and can be consumed by the children who
are allergic to milk.

It acts as a probiotic because it contains the predominant lactic acid

bacteria. Studies have been reported its possible beneficial role in the treatment
of diarrhea, gastroenteritis, irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel
disease, cancer, depressed immune function and inadequate lactase digestion.
 In the Philippines, taro leaves and corms were boiled and eaten by women
experiencing a difficult childbirth. Some tribes use taro as an antidote to the
stings of wasps and other biting insects, heated tubers were applied to painful
parts of rheumatism. Honey mixed with tuber ash was also used as a cure for
apthae and mouth (Azhar Ahmed & Farukh Khan, 2013).

Industrial Use

Although it was not common in practice, the petioles were sometimes used
to make dots of semicircle designs on cloth. In fact, certain varieties were
used as a source of red kappa dye. Taro starch is used in the manufacture of
biodegradable plastics.

Food Source

The starch contained in the large corms of taro is highly digestible,

therefore making it a good source for carbohydrate and to a lesser degree of
potassium and protein.
 CHAPTER III

Methodology

This chapter presents the research design, locale, population and sampling,
respondents of the study, research instrument, validation of the instruments,
data gathering procedure, analysis of data, and statistical tools employed in the
study.

Research Design

The researchers utilized descriptive-quantitative research design specifically

the descriptive analysis which is primarily concerned to provide description of
the sensory qualities of food. Affective test was the sensory test employed on
this paper to evaluate linking for foods, these are sometimes called ‘consumer
tests’.

The purpose of descriptive analysis is to obtain detailed descriptions of

aroma, taste, texture, appearance and color. It is used both to obtain the
qualitative descriptor of the product and to obtain quantitative evaluations of
product.

Microbiological test was used to determine the overall acceptance of the

product (Accepted, Highly Accepted, Not Accepted).

Research Locale

This study focused in determining the acceptability of White Taro jam to

SHS teachers and students at Talavera Senior High School. Therefore, this
study will be conducted in Talavera Senior High School at Highway 1, Villa
Rufina Subdivision, Pag-Asa District, Talavera, Nueva Ecija.
Figure 2. Main entrance of Talavera Senior High School, Nueva Ecija

Brief History

Before, the Talavera Senior High School was only a department under
Talavera National High School (TNHS) but during school year 2016-2017 the
school was established on its own. The Schools Division of Nueva Ecija
recognized the Talavera Senior High School and appointed its first principal
named Donato B. Chico, School Principal II with his assistant School
Principal, Virginia Fernandez. (Benedicto et al., 2019).

Talavera Senior High School is offering Academic and Technical Vocational

Livelihood (TVL) track. Under the academic track are Science, Technology,
Engineering, Mathematic (STEM). Accountancy, Business and Management
(ABM), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMMS), and General Academic
Strand (GAS). On the other hand, under TVL track, Talavera Senior High
School have: Agri-Fishery Arts, Home Economics, ICT, and Industrial Arts.

Currently, Ma’am Mary Jane Alvarez is now the new appointed principal of
TSHS. Before she came, the assistant School Principal II Mr. Ericson L.
Nepomuceno is the one who takes in charge of the school temporarily.

Mission

To protect and promote the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable,

culture-based and complete basic education where students learn in child-
friendly, gender-sensitive, safe, and motivating environment. Teachers facilitate
learning and constantly nurture every learner. Administrators and staff, as
stewards of the institution, ensure an enabling and supportive environment for
effective learning to happen. Family, community, and other stakeholders are
actively engaged and share responsibility for developing life-long learners.

Vision

We dream of Filipinos who passionately love their country and whose

values and competencies enable them to realize their full potential and
contribute meaningfully to building the nation.

As a learner-centered public institution, the Department of Education

continuously improves itself to better serve its stakeholders.
Respondents of the study

The respondents of the study will be the teachers and TVL students from
Talavera Senior High School.

Instrument of the study

A structured questionnaire administered to generate the data needed for this

study. This is divided into two parts; Part I consist mostly of the demographic
profile of the respondents and likert scale used on Part II this is to generate
responses to determine the acceptability of white taro jam in terms of
following attributes: aroma, taste, color, sweetness and texture.

Sampling Technique

This study used total sampling in getting the total number of the
respondents from teachers and students of Talavera Senior High School.

Total population sampling is a type of purposive sampling where the whole

population of interest (i.e., a group whose members all share a given
characteristic) is studied.

Data Gathering Procedure

Permit to survey should be prepared and subject for approval to facilitate

the admission of survey questionnaire. Data consolidated and tabulation will
synthesized to generate responses from the respondents.
Statistical treatment of data

The collected questionnaire were organize with respondents profile and

several feedback was systematically consolidated and tallied.

Frequency and Percentage (P) was computed to determine the proportion of

a part to a whole such as given number in relation to the entire population of
the respondents.

These were shows, analyzed, and interpreted with the tool of frequency
counts and percentage formula presented below:

%= ( NF ) x 100
Where:

% = Percentage

F = Frequency

N = Total number of respondents

Average Weighted Mean was used to calculate the average value of a

particular set of numbers with different value of particular set of numbers with
different levels of A

Mean = Sum of all score/Number of Scores

Symbolically,

x
X= ∑
n

X = mean of all x values

∑x = sum of all x values

N = number of x values

Standard Deviation (SD) tells how measurements for a group are spread out
from the average weighted mean or expected value. A low SD means that
most of the numbers are very close to the average. A high SD means that the
numbers are spread out.

Ethical Considerations

The researchers will respond to the Data Privacy Act to the letter. This
paper deals with intellectual property night. Informed concerns of participants
their identities will be protected to guarantee that they volunteered for this
project.