Aonla (Indian gooseberry) also known as ‘amla’ is a very beneficial fruit of Indian origin. It is also called 'Amrit Phal' due to its unique medicinal and nutritional properties. Aonla fruit is rich in vitamin C and polyphenols. It also contains adequate amounts of carbohydrates, fiber, iron, calcium, phosphorus and other vitamins. So, regular intake of aonla helps in balancing diabetes, digestive, eye, cardiovascular and blood disorders.
Due to the acidic and astringent taste, aonla fruits are not suitable for immediate use. So, they are consumed through preparation of many tasty products having useful properties of aonla. At the commercial level, juice, pickle, slices-in-syrup, candy, laddoo, burfi, supari, powder, churan and chyawanprash are prepared.
There are several commercial varieties of aonla available such as Chakaiya, Krishna, NA-6, NA-7, NA-10, Kanchan and Lakshmi-52, which are selected depending upon the type of product to be prepared. Some of the products prepared by ICAR-Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Lucknow are as under:
1. Aonla Juice
2. Aonla Pickle
3. Aonla Pulp
4. Aonla Burfi
5. Aonla Ladoo
6. Aonla Preserve
7. Aonla Slices-in-Syrup
8. Aonla Candy
9. Aonla Supari
10. Aonla Churan